


The Match Game

by MTK4FUN



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Drama, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-09
Updated: 2013-08-22
Packaged: 2017-12-18 06:53:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTK4FUN/pseuds/MTK4FUN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Hunger Games television show is canceled after 73 years due to the assassination of President Coriolanus Snow in a bloodless coup. Three years later a new show is created to unite Panem. Called The Match Game, it features a young woman who will pick a husband from among twelve contestants, one from each district, to marry in a Capitol wedding. The star of the show -- Katniss Everdeen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Kind Of Show

Plutarch Heavensbee took a sip from the coffee mug sitting on his expansive desk. He swiveled his chair around and looked down through the big glass wall behind him at the Capitol’s citizens scurrying about like rats in a maze.

Things had changed a lot for the country since the assassination of President Coriolanus Snow right after the 73rd annual _Hunger Games_ nearly three years earlier. Fortunately, it had been a bloodless coup, and the new government had taken over with little loss of life.

The new president, Seneca Crane, was trying to put a fresh face on things. Crane’s administration was still dictatorial in many ways, but they wanted to disassociate themselves completely from Snow’s regime. This meant the immediate cancellation of _The Hunger Games_ , the longest running television show in Panem. The show had united the country in a way nothing else had.

Plutarch was determined to create a new show that would do the same. Unfortunately Crane wouldn’t allow Plutarch to enforce mandatory viewing. This meant the new show had to be all the more riveting to keep the entire country glued to their television sets. 

He heard a knock on his door and he turned his chair around. “Come in,” he called, as his lovely assistant Fulvia Cardew entered. The shapely woman glowed pink, the most popular color in the Capitol these days. But it wasn’t only her clothes that were varying shades of pink, her hair was bright pink, her fingernails were painted pink, even her skin was a soft shade of the color. It made the silver flowers inlaid in her plump cheeks look even shinier.

“Any thoughts?” Plutarch asked.

Fulvia nodded. “Well, I was talking with some of my staff and I had an idea.” 

Plutarch leaned forward in his seat, his arms resting on the desk. Fulvia was something of a genius in programming. The popular singing show _So Your Dog Can Croon,_ and the zany reality show _Where’s My Blankie?_ were all conceived by her.

“What is it?” he asked, eager to hear her latest suggestion.

“Well, you know how _The Hunger Games_ was geared toward the male demographic with all that killing and stuff? Why not gear the new show toward women, with lots of love and handsome men to drool over?”

Plutarch pursed his lips and squinted. “Go on.”

“We get a girl from one of the districts and bring her to the Capitol, and then get twelve men, one from each district to woo her. She’ll pick one of the men to marry and then we’ll hold a big Capitol wedding. We could probably move them into one of those old Victor’s Village homes in the man’s district. Every district has a few of those still around. We could do follow-ups over time. You know when they have their first baby and so on.”

Plutarch licked his lips. “That’s not a bad idea. But what if the girl doesn’t want any of the men?” 

Fulvia laughed. “It’s not real. It’s a television show. We’d script everything so we can control the outcome. She could pick the winner in advance of the show. Anyway, it’s not like _The Hunger Games_ wasn’t rigged as well.”

“Don’t I know it?” He snorted. He paused for a moment as he thought over her idea. “This sounds like the ideal show for women. But without mandatory viewing, what would entice men to watch a show like this? The woman would have to be pretty spectacular to hold the attention of male viewers.” 

“Hum, nudity and sex would keep them riveted if we can get our girl to perform, although that may not be likely. Most of the women in the districts tend to be so inhibited. I suppose we could add some sports into the mix.” 

“This is sounding a bit expensive, Fulvia. We don’t have the same budgets we had in the past.” 

“I have some ideas about how this entire show could fund itself, maybe even turn a profit, in addition to the advertising revenue. I can work up the numbers for you.”

Plutarch nodded. “I’d like to see that.”  He rubbed the side of his face. “Do you think it would be easy to find a girl willing to televise her love life to the entire nation? We can’t reap people anymore. The new government won’t allow it.” 

“Lots of women would jump at the chance to have a dozen men throw themselves at them. And who would possibly object to an all-expenses-paid Capitol wedding? I know I would have liked it if someone had paid for one of my three weddings. If our girl is skittish though, I’m sure we can find some way to convince her to participate. Everyone has a price.”

“Better get someone from one of the worse off districts then, like Twelve for example,” Plutarch said. “A girl from there would probably be flattered and go along with the idea more easily than someone from a better off district. Also our girl should have no prior attachments. We need to avoid complications, like jealous boyfriends or a scandalous past.”

“So, Plutarch, you want me to find a needle in a haystack,” Fulvia laughed. “Sounds good, boss. I can book a hovercraft for tomorrow to head out to Twelve.”

“How are you planning to find our girl?”

“Nose around the district, talk to the locals. It shouldn’t be that difficult.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss Everdeen was returning from her Sunday hunt with her best friend Gale Hawthorne. They had a good haul today and she was grateful. It had been a harsh winter and spring had come late. She and her family had skipped meals on more than one occasion over the past several months.

Even though the government of Panem had been overthrown three years ago, the country’s new leaders hadn’t done much to improve the lot of the people of District 12. Poverty still reigned and people from the Seam continued to be treated like second-class citizens by the district’s merchant class.

The best thing to come from the change in government was that _The Hunger Games_ had ended. Katniss no longer had to fear that she or her sister Primrose would ever be reaped.

The new government had also lifted the restrictions about leaving the confines of the district. People could freely travel freely now, although it was expensive so not many did. But the fence that separated District 12 from the forest beyond was no longer electrified because of the lifting of the restriction. This effectively ended the prohibition on hunting. 

Now Katniss and Gale could hunt and sell their game without threat of recrimination. Unfortunately, this also meant that more and more people were entering the woods to hunt. Game was getting scarce. Katniss and Gale had to travel deeper into the forest to find it. 

“Let’s sell the squirrels to the baker,” Katniss told Gale as they walked toward town. The baker was a steady customer, who often overpaid for the meat she provided by tossing in a loaf of bread along with some coins.

Gale nodded. “We can take a rabbit each for our families and sell the rest to Sae.”

“Sound’s good.” 

They turned the corner into the square and headed for the back door of the bakery. They didn’t dare come in the front. If the baker’s wife saw them enter in the front of the shop, she’d kick them right out. She’d often complained about the stench of blood that emanated from the game bags each of them carried. She said it made the bakery reek.

Katniss didn’t mind. The baker’s wife was a witch who was mean to everyone, including her own family. Katniss knocked on the door. Mr. Mellark, the baker, opened it.

“Good morning Katniss, how many squirrels do you have today?”

“Three.”

He motioned for her to come inside. Gale followed her into the warm kitchen that smelled of freshly baked bread. The room was filled with two long tables that were waist-high. A big oven stood on one wall. Shelves lined with glass jars filled with spices and other ingredients ran along another wall. Sacks of flour and sugar lay on the floor.

Two of the baker’s sons, Rye and Peeta were stationed at the tables rolling out dough. Katniss thought they might be making cookies because a few round cutters were nearby. 

Peeta, the younger son, glanced up at Katniss as she surveyed the kitchen. His blue eyes flitted away quickly as soon as he made eye contact. Katniss noticed his cheeks turn a slight tinge of pink, but she didn’t have time to think about it because the baker was already returning from the front of the store where he’d grabbed a loaf of bread from behind the glass and some coins from the register to pay her.

She put her hand out and Mr. Mellark dropped the coins into her palm. He handed her the loaf, which she tucked under her arm. 

“Thank you,” she muttered. She was turning to leave when she heard a scream from the front of the shop. Katniss was so startled by the noise that she nearly dropped the loaf of bread.

She turned back quickly to see Mr. Mellark, and both Peeta and Rye leap forward to run to the storefront. The baker’s wife, who was working behind the counter, was having some sort of fit.

Katniss turned back to look at Gale. “Let’s go,” she mouthed, not wanting to get caught up in this family drama.

But Gale was leaning over her shoulder, curious to see what had made Mrs. Mellark scream.

“Holy cow,” Gale whistled.

Katniss turned to see what he was looking at. It was a customer dressed in pink who had pink hair and pink skin. Tiny silver flowers were embedded into her cheeks. It was obvious this woman was from the Capitol. Her odd manner of dress was similar to the strange getups that Effie Trinket, the Capitol’s representative who used to reap District 12 children for _The Hunger Games_ , wore. However, even Effie hadn’t tinted the color of her skin.

“Can I help you?” Mr. Mellark inquired of the customer. His wife was too tongue-tied to get out a word.

“Yes,” the woman said. “I’d like two dozen of those big cookies, that large frosted cake, a dozen cheese buns, and a couple of loaves of wheat bread.”

Katniss gasped. It would cost a miner nearly a week’s wages to order that much food. Whatever was this woman going to do with it? More importantly, why was she here in District 12?

Rye and Peeta started to walk back into the kitchen. It was obvious their mother was fine and their father was taking care of the customer. Katniss jumped back, embarrassed that she and Gale were spying on them. 

Rye glanced at them curiously. “Aren’t you finished? Do you need to talk to my dad?”

“Yes, we’re finished.” Katniss blushed. “We’re just leaving.”

She turned quickly and pushed Gale toward the back door, but not before noticing Peeta glare at his brother. As she and Gale exited, they heard Mrs. Mellark speaking loudly. “My son Peeta does all the cake decorating. Get in here Peeta,” she yelled.

When they were outside, Gale burst out. “Did you see that woman? She makes Effie Trinket look normal.”

“Why would someone from the Capitol be here in District 12?” Katniss wondered.

“Maybe they’re planning to reinstate _The Hunger Games_.”

“Don’t say that Gale, that’s awful,” Katniss hissed. A wave of fear washed over her. She was turning eighteen next month. If the games restarted, she’d be eligible for one last year. Her sister Prim, however, was only fourteen.

“Let’s walk around the front of the shop and check her out,” Katniss suggested.

“How will that give you any answers Catnip?”

But Kantiss was already walking down the narrow alley that divided the bakery from the next building. Gale followed her. “Where do you propose standing so that the witch doesn’t come out and start yelling at us.”

Katniss positioned herself near the big glass window in front, turning her body to the side. “Just pretend to look in the game bag,” Katniss told Gale. “Pretend like we’re having a normal conversation.” 

“This is stupid,” Gale said, but he opened Katniss’ bag and peered inside. 

“Anything happening Catnip?”

Katniss frowned. “No, I think they’re talking about the cakes though. She keeps pointing to the cakes and the witch is pointing to Peeta.”

“You look in the bag now, let me see what’s going on.”

Katniss looked inside the bag and pushed the dead rabbits around, while Gale lifted his head to glance into the window.

He looked for a short time before calling out. “For crying out loud.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed Katniss wrist pulling her away from the window and halfway across the square before Katniss stopped him.

“Let go, Gale.” She pulled her wrist from his grasp and rubbed it gently. “What are you so upset about?” 

“When I looked in the window, guess who I saw gazing at you all dopey-eyed?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Peeta. He was staring at you.”

“What do you mean he was staring at me? He was probably just looking through the window and I was on the other side.”

“No Catnip, he was looking directly at you. His mouth was hanging open and he looked all moony-eyed. Even that Capitol woman turned her head to see what he looking at.”

“You’re making that up Gale.”

“No, I’m not. I think he likes you.” 

“What? He does not.”

“Listen, we don’t have time to argue. Let’s go to the Hob and find Sae. It’s getting late.”

Later, when Katniss was home with her mother and Prim, and eating her dinner of roasted rabbit, she wondered if what Gale had said was true. Was Peeta staring at her?

If he was, she knew it had nothing to do with him liking her. It was because of the bread. When she was eleven years old, Peeta had tossed her a loaf of burned bread that had literally saved her family from starvation. Ever since then she’d occasionally catch him looking at her.

But in the past year, as they neared graduation from school, the staring had gotten worse. In fact, other people were calling her attention to it. Only last week, Madge had told her that Peeta was looking at her while they were eating lunch. Now Gale said he was staring today. 

She knew she had been wrong in failing to thank him for the bread. That must be the reason – he wanted a thank-you. But it had been seven years already. Couldn’t he let it drop? Was he that concerned about her poor manners?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Peeta Mellark was the last thing on Katniss’ mind the next day. The talk of the school was the Capitol woman who was staying at the mayor’s house and apparently doing fieldwork for a new television show.

Usually Katniss and Madge ate lunch alone together. It had been that way for years. Both were rather quiet and sometimes they sat without speaking for the entire lunch period. But today, nearly every girl in the senior class was huddled around their table as Madge gossiped about the strange pink-skinned woman named Fulvia Cardew. 

According to Madge, Fulvia was going to make a television star out of a lucky girl in District 12 in a new show designed to unite the country in the same way _The Hunger Games_ did. All Madge knew about the show was that the girl would be go to the Capitol and interact with people from every district. 

Katniss had no idea how the silly show that Madge described could in any way be compared to _The Hunger Games_. She couldn’t image anything more boring. She knew she shouldn’t complain because boring television was far better than absolute terror, but she wished the government would just leave everyone alone.

“How are they going to pick the girl?” asked Delly Cartwright, a pasty-faced merchant girl with a lumpy figure.

“Miss Cardew didn’t say.” Madge twirled her strawberry blonde around the end of her finger.

Judging by the interest of her classmates, Katniss suspected that every girl at the table, other than herself, was interested in being selected. The conversation died out after a while, after Madge had divulged everything she knew, which wasn’t much. The girls who had hung onto Madge’s every word got up and moved themselves to their usual lunchtime tables, leaving Madge and Katniss alone.

They both ate silently for a while until Madge spoke.

“She asked about you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Miss Cardew asked me if I knew a girl who dressed in a leather jacket and carried a dirty bag over her shoulder and wore her dark hair in a braid down her back.”

“Oh.” The strange woman must have noticed her when she and Gale had stood outside the bakery spying on her. Gale had mentioned that she had turned her head to see what Peeta was looking at.

“I guess I look very different from the girls she sees in the Capitol.”

“I guess,” Madge shrugged. “I wonder if she’ll pick you.”

Katniss laughed. “I don’t think so. Besides I’d never do agree to something like that.”

“Why not Katniss? It’s a ticket to a brighter future. It could lead to all sorts of opportunities. What do you plan to do after graduation anyway?” 

Katniss frowned. She’d been putting off thinking about her future for some time. She didn’t have much to look forward to except a lifetime of work. As daughter of the mayor, Madge was guaranteed a job in the Justice Building, helping to administer the governmental affairs of District 12. 

Likewise, merchant girls were trained to work in their family’s business. However girls from the Seam, like Katniss, had only one real option, working in the mines. 

There were rumors that the new government was going to open a factory to make medicines, but it hadn’t happened yet, so Katniss couldn’t count on that as possible employment option. And with the forest being overrun with hunters, she couldn’t count on hunting as a reliable means of employment either.

Additionally, many of the girls in her class were already planning their weddings for the upcoming summer. People married young in District 12 because life was hard. Most people were lucky to live past sixty. Sae was probably one of the oldest people in the district. 

Katniss didn’t have a sweetheart. Her only male friend was Gale but he’d never expressed any interest in her as anything more than a hunting partner. It didn’t bother her, though, because until the government was overthrown three years ago she’d never even considered a future that included marriage and children. She didn’t want to live in fear of her children being reaped.

That worry was gone now. But still, she wasn’t sure if marriage was for her. She’d seen how her mother had fallen apart when her father had been killed in a mine explosion seven years ago. Katniss knew it would destroy her to love someone and lose them like that. It was easier not to care about someone in that way.

“I don’t know, I suppose I don’t have much of a future,” she admitted to Madge. She’d never been a person to think much further ahead than the next couple of days.

“Well, maybe you do.” A small smile had formed on Madge’s lips. “Someone’s staring at you again.”

Katniss scowled.

 

 


	2. The Deal

Two days later, a guest was ensconced in the Everdeen living room when Katniss and Prim arrived home from school. It was Fulvia Cardew, seated in the best chair in the house, drinking tea, and talking with their mother.

“Here she is now,” Mrs. Everdeen said, as Katniss and Prim came into the room and dropped their school bags onto the floor.

Prim’s mouth dropped open, but no sound came out when she saw the pink-skinned woman.  Even Katniss was surprised at the garishness of her appearance up close in the simple house where her family lived. She now understood why Mrs. Mellark had initially screamed when the Capitol woman entered the bakery.

“Katniss, Miss Cardew would like to speak with you.” Outwardly her mother looked calm, but she could tell by the tone of her mother’s voice that their guest frightened her.

Katniss dragged a chair from the dining table and set it near to her mother and Fulvia. She sat down. Prim stood by their mother.

“Katniss, dear, I’m Fulvia Cardew. I work for Plutarch Heavensbee, the head of network programming for Panem.”

Katniss had no idea who Plutarch was, but she listened intently to the woman speak, her voice rising at the end of each sentence, instead of lowering.

“We are creating a new television show to replace _The Hunger Games_.”

Prim gasped and Katniss reached out to steady her. She hadn’t shared with her sister the information that Madge had passed along to everyone at lunch a couple of days earlier.

“The new show will be called _The Match Game_ ,” Fulvia continued. “We’ll take one lucky girl to the Capitol where she’ll be wooed by twelve men, one from each district. She’ll choose one to be her husband and they will be married in a big Capitol wedding. Then they’ll live happily ever after in her new husband’s district. Of course all of it will be televised for the entire country to enjoy.” 

As Fulvia spoke, a bitter taste rose in the back of Katniss’ throat. She jumped up from her chair, ran to the kitchen sink, and vomited up the remnants of her lunch. For someone like her, someone who didn’t know if she wanted to marry or have children, this new show was on par with _The Hunger Games_. How could they force some girl to marry a stranger and live with him for the rest of her life? It was barbaric.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. What was Fulvia doing in her living room talking to her mother? Why had she come to their house to talk about the show? Prim was too young to be getting married. That left… 

“No,” she shouted, walking back into the living room. “I refuse. I will not be your tribute.” She used word `tribute,’ a word associated in her mind with _The Hunger Games_ , to emphasize to Fulvia that the two shows were similar. 

“Katniss Everdeen, apologize immediately to our guest,” her mother insisted. “You are being being very rude.”

Katniss scowled, muttering a quick, “I’m sorry.”

Mrs. Everdeen spoke to Fulvia. “I always hoped my daughters would marry for love. My husband and I did. I want the same for them.” 

“Mrs. Everdeen, we would never force Katniss to marry someone just to get television ratings,” Fulvia explained. She spoke directly to Katniss. “You will be given ample time to fall in love with one of the men we select to be on the show.” 

“But what if she doesn’t?” Mrs. Everdeen questioned.

Fulvia looked amazed. “But of course she will. Why wouldn’t she? She’ll be interacting with the most handsome men in all of Panem.”

“I’m not doing it,” Katniss insisted. “Why would you want me anyway? I’m not pretty. I don’t know how to act around the opposite sex. And I don’t want to get married at all, certainly not to someone I don’t know.” 

“That’s the beauty of it,” Fulvia said. “People will enjoy watching the transformation of a simple girl with an uncertain future. You will, in a your own way, be unifying our great country.” 

Katniss frowned, thinking that Fulvia’s explanation of her role was stretching the limits of credibility. 

“Citizens across Panem will be rooting for the man from their district to be the winner who captures your heart. Everyone appreciates a love story. You and the man you choose will show that at heart the new government is firmly on the side of the people. Our new government wants to take a very different approach than the old regime. We want to celebrate life, instead of destroy it.”

Katniss shook her head. “I’m not interested. Find someone else.” She fled to her bedroom, slamming the door. 

Later, after Fulvia had left, her mother came to check on her. 

“Why did you even let that woman into the house?” Katniss complained. Her face was buried into her thin pillow as she lay on the bed that she and Prim shared. 

“She’s from the Capitol,” her mother said. “I didn’t think I had much choice. Quite frankly I don’t trust those people. No matter if the government has changed.”

“You agree with me, don’t you?” Katniss asked her mother. 

Her mother sighed. “I don’t want you to be forced to marry anyone. That’s wrong. But I am concerned about going against the Capitol. There could be repercussions to you, to our family, to our district even.” 

“Repercussions! It’s a television show, Mom, it’s not the government.”

“Katniss, the television network runs the government. Who do you think orchestrated the assassination of President Snow? These people have power. I don’t think it’s wise to go against them.”

“So you want me to agree to do it?”

“I don’t know.”  Her mother looked tired. “It would be a great opportunity to see more of the country, to meet men from other districts, to have a better future. Maybe you would find someone to love. At any rate it would probably be better than working in the mines.”

Katniss frowned. She didn’t want to work in the mines, the place where her father had died. The thought of taking an elevator down each morning to work in the bowels of the earth, never seeing the sun, never hearing the birds chip, never feeling the soft breeze across her skin, well, it made her sick with despair. She didn’t know how Gale put up with it. She knew he hated the work.

But the thought of being forced to marry someone, especially when she wasn’t even sure that it was something she ever wanted to do – seemed just as awful.

“Maybe she’ll find someone else,” Katniss said. “It could blow over.”

“I hope so,” her mother said. “For all of our sakes.”

But when Katniss arrived home from school the next day, Fulvia was back in their living room again, speaking to her mother. But the Capitol woman had brought a friend along with her, Mayor Undersee.

“I’m not interested,” Katniss immediately told the pink-skinned woman.

“Listen to what they have to say first,” her mother suggested.

An uncomfortable silence followed, and then the mayor cleared his throat. “I understand your concern,” he began. “I wouldn’t want Madge to be forced into an arranged marriage either. But Katniss, you must know your participation on this show will bring great publicity to District 12. I’ve already received calls from the Capitol regarding the opening of the medicine factory contingent on your involvement. That plant would provide lots of jobs for the district. It would give people in the Seam another way to support their families besides working in the mines.” 

Katniss’ shoulders dropped. There was no way she could refuse now. If word got out that she’d turned this down, she’d be a pariah in District 12, especially in the Seam. But being forced to marry a stranger – the thought was loathsome.

“Katniss, dear, I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday,” Fulvia added. “Maybe I didn’t explain myself as clearly as I could have. One of the suitors who will woo you will be from your own district. If there is any man you have an inclination towards, you could select him as the District 12 contestant. We can arrange for him to be the winner and you could both live happily ever after at the expense of the Capitol for the rest of your lives. Neither of you will have to worry about anything ever again.” 

“There’s no one...” Katniss began, but a plan began to form in her mind. Gale. If she agreed to this she’d help the district and be able to get Gale out of the mines, as well. She could help both their families. Of course, she’d have to marry him. But at least she knew him. She cared for him as a friend.

Would Gale want to marry her? She didn’t think he cared about her in a romantic way. But why had he made such a big deal about Peeta staring at her through the bakery window?  Maybe he was jealous? Maybe he did have some feelings for her, something she hadn’t noticed at all.

“What do you think dear?” Fulvia began.

Katniss noticed her mother eyeing her carefully.

“If I agree to do it, I have some conditions,” Katniss said to Fulvia.

Her mother’s face wore an expression of uneasiness. Katniss glanced at Prim. Her sister was smiling. Katniss knew Prim was such a romantic, that she’d wanted Katniss to fall in love with a handsome man and marry him as soon as she heard about the show. The mayor was beaming. He shook Katniss’ hand and thanked her for her sacrifice for the people of the district.

“But of course dear,” Fulvia exclaimed. “You can negotiate everything in the contract that you’ll sign.” 

Over the next day Katniss’ contract to star in _The Match Game_ was ironed out. Katniss made it very clear to Fulvia that she did not want the Capitol fashion experts to make her over in any way that involved bodily enhancements, including skin tinting, tattoos, piercings, enlargement or reduction of body parts, and hair color or eye color changes.

Next Katniss asked that Gale not be informed that Katniss had selected him as her District 12 suitor. She knew he hated the Capitol, regardless of the government in charge, and that he would refuse all help that smacked of charity. She also knew he would be mad at her as well, if he knew she was trying to get him out of the mines, even though he hated being there. If they had to be married, she hoped he would agree because he cared for her as his friend. It would be a marriage based on friendship and survival.

“Now you’re sure about this Gale fellow?” Fulvia questioned. “I’ve met a couple of handsome men in District 12 who make excellent contestants.”

“I’m sure,” Katniss insisted.

“Maybe you should talk to Gale about it first,” her mother suggested. “This is too big of a decision to be made without his agreement. Has he indicated that he has feelings for you?”

“Not like that. But he is my best friend.” 

Mrs. Everdeen shook her head. “That might not be enough, Katniss.” 

But Katniss ignored Fulvia’s and her mother’s concerns, insisting only that her family and the Hawthornes receive financial compensation while she and Gale were in the Capitol filming the show. She knew that he would refuse to participate if it meant his family would suffer even for just a short time.

Lastly, Mrs. Everdeen had a final condition. She wanted Katniss to graduate from school. She had less than two months to go and her mother said it was important that Katniss finish her education.

Fulvia agreed to everything and Katniss signed the contract. Fulvia asked her to remain silent about it. 

“We’ll be making a public announcement about the show in a couple of months,” she said. “But for now keep quiet.” 

Katniss and her mother looked at Prim. She was the only one who would be likely to blab about it.

“I won’t tell,” Prim promised.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of days later, Madge mentioned that Fulvia had left the mayor’s residence and returned to the Capitol. “Such a strange woman,” Madge said. “Our housekeeper said the bed was filled with cookie crumbs and the room littered with crumpled bags from the bakery when she left.”

Katniss shook her head in disgust, remembering all the baked goods Fulvia had purchased when she arrived. Apparently she had eaten everything herself. It only reinforced Katniss’ negative opinion of people from the Capitol.

“Did she find anyone to star in the show?” Katniss asked curiously, wondering if Madge knew that Katniss had agreed to do it.

“I don’t think so,” Madge said sadly.

Katniss nodded. She didn’t think her friend was lying. She guessed Fulvia, and even Mayor Undersee were keeping it secret.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next two months passed quickly. Katniss was able to forget about everything for most of that time. A few weeks before school ended, though, Fulvia sent a woman named Venia to take Katniss’ measurements for clothing that would be specially designed for her to wear while she was on the show. Venia, was another creature from the Capitol. She had aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows.

Cressida, a film director whose bald head was tattooed with green vines, and a camera operator named Castor accompanied her.

Fortunately they arrived at Katniss’ house early one Saturday morning before most people were awake. Cressida directed Castor to take shots of the Everdeen home, inside and out. He even took a short clip of Mrs. Everdeen cooking breakfast for Prim and Katniss, and the whole family sitting down to eat.

Separate interviews were also filmed of the three of them. In her interview, Katniss was asked why she had agreed to be the first star of _The Match Game_. She knew she wasn’t supposed to mention anything about Gale, or anything that would make the show look fixed. Instead she talked about her desire to provide for her family.

When asked if she’d ever been in love before, she shook her head. Instead she described her parents’ marriage and the great love her mother had shared for her father. “I hope I can have the same thing,” she said stiffly, although she knew that participation in the show had ruined any chances of that happening.

“That’s gold,” Cressida congratulated her when the camera was turned off. “Exactly the kind of stuff we need.”

“Cinna will be sending a dress for you to wear when you leave District 12, since that part will be filmed for the show,” Venia told Katniss, after taking her measurements. “He wanted to know your favorite color.”  

“Green.” 

“Wonderful,” Venia said, writing it down. “Well, I guess that’s it. We have a few things to take care of in town before we go. Fulvia will be here to accompany you in a few weeks. You’ll have a week of prep time in the Capitol before the show gets underway.”

“Aren’t you excited?” Prim asked after they left.

Katniss shook her head. The closer she got to leaving, the worse she felt. She knew she should tell Gale everything. But she was scared. She suspected he’d be angry with her for cooperating with the Capitol and involving him as well.

When her worries got bad or she woke up with nightmares about the show, she reminded herself it would bring jobs to District 12. It would get Gale out of the mines. It would keep her out. Neither of them, nor their families would ever go hungry again. It _was_ worth it.

The Sunday before graduation, Katniss joined Gale in the woods for one last hunt. When they were leaving the woods, Gale asked about her plans for the future.

“There’s rumors that the Capitol will be breaking ground for the new medicine factory within the month,” he said excitedly. “Maybe you could work there.”

“I’m doing something different,” she said. “I’m going to be part of a new television show in the Capitol.”

Gale looked stunned, as if she had told him she was going to fly to the moon. “What are you talking about?”

“I was selected to be part of a show to unify the country. It’s called _The Match Game_.”

“What does that even mean?” Gale stared at her like she was crazy. 

Katniss was beginning to think she was crazy. This was too difficult. She would say nothing. Fulvia would be speaking with Gale soon enough. Let her explain everything. They’d be meeting up in the Capitol shortly, although she couldn’t picture Gale in that place. She could hardly picture herself in that place. 

“I won’t be here to hunt next week, for a few weeks really.” She frowned because she suddenly realized that she didn’t know when she’d be coming home. How long would it take to film the show and get married? It might take a while. 

“Okay,” Gale said, somewhat confused. “We’ll go hunting when you get back then.” 

She nodded. 

Gale had gathered a basket of strawberries while they were out in the woods. They agreed that he would go to the mayor’s house to sell the strawberries, and Katniss would go to the bakery to trade the squirrels. They’d meet up in the Hob to sell the remainder of their kill to Sae.

The kitchen portion of the bakery was empty when Katniss handed over the squirrels to Mr. Mellark. Katniss wondered where Peeta was, he was always working when she stopped by after a Sunday hunt. 

At least she wouldn’t have to put up with his staring at her for much longer. He would certainly stop that behavior when she was married. Otherwise, Gale would have ample reason to punch him. 

As she left the bakery and walked through the town toward the Hob, she began to feel homesick. She would be leaving in the next couple of days and when she returned things would be different. She would be married. She wouldn’t be living in the Seam. She would have enough money that she wouldn’t need to hunt any longer; she could buy meat directly from the butcher if she wanted.

She saw Gale hurrying toward her just as she reached the Hob. He was grinning. She was glad he was happy. Little did he know, but his life was about to change too. She hoped she had made the right decision to insist he be part of the show.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The day after graduation, Katniss woke up to a crowded bedroom. The room seemed brighter than usual. Cressida and Castor were standing over her bed. The bright light of the camera was shining in her face. Katniss wanted to pull the blankets over her head, but Prim wouldn’t let her.

“Today’s the big day,” Prim shouted. “Wake up Katniss.”

Katniss sat up in bed and yawned. This would be her last morning here in her home in the Seam. She could hardly believe she was on her way to the Capitol. The camera was strapped to Castor and he followed her closely, documenting her every move. Cressida had brought a dress and matching shoes for Katniss to wear. She took everything and escaped in the bathroom with the clothes, slamming the door in Castor’s face. Would she lose all her privacy now?

She looked at the dress carefully. She was puzzled at first that the simple A-line shift with that short lacy jacket wasn’t green. She was expecting that color since she’d told Venia it was her favorite. But this outfit was a soft orange hue, which looked lovely against her olive completion.

She dressed quickly, but Cressida stopped her when she came out of the bathroom to apply some makeup and rearrange her hair to hang over her shoulders. Afterwards, Katniss went into the kitchen to eat breakfast with Prim. Once they were done with their meal, she heard a strange noise outside, and peered out the window.

It was the idling of a car’s engine. There were no paved roads in the Seam and the pathways were narrow so the car took up most of the dirt path. Katniss was amazed that the driver had been able to maneuver it into place.

Cressida directed her to hug her mother and Prim goodbye on the small porch of the Everdeen home, while Castor filmed it. Katniss was near tears as she clung to Prim.

“That’s a wrap,” Cressida called after Katniss hugged her mother. “Let’s go, the train is waiting for us.”

Castor filmed Katniss entering the car, and then stopped the camera when Cressida got in. The car started to drive off. 

“What about Castor?” Katniss asked as she leaned back into the soft leather seats. Katniss never had been in car before and was amazed at how luxurious it was inside.

“He needs to get a shot of the car driving off and your mother and sister waving goodbye.”

A moment later the car stopped, and a few minutes later an out-of-breath Castor opened the door and came inside. 

No one spoke on the way to the station. Katniss noticed people stopped to stare at the car as it drove past. There weren’t many cars in District 12. The Gamemakers from the Capitol had usually brought one to cart Effie Trinket and the two tributes around during the reaping. Katniss wondered if this car had ever carried tributes. The thought turned her stomach.

They quickly arrived at the station. Katniss got out of the car to face a crowd of people. “Where did all they come from?” she asked Cressida. 

“We paid them to stand here to see you off. They’re part of the background scenery.” 

“Oh.” Katniss was surprised at the lengths the Capitol would go to put on a television show. 

Castor filmed Katniss as she made her way into the train. She waved to the crowd, as Cressida directed, and stepped inside. The train was beautifully decorated with wood trim and lush carpets and fancy furniture. Cressida pushed her forward into a car that was set up like a fine home with two high-backed sofas that faced each other and a long mahogany dining table set with crystal.

Katniss immediately saw Fulvia sitting in the middle of one of the couches. She was talking to someone, wearing a forest green shirt, who was sitting on the other couch. 

Katniss walked toward Fulvia, just as the train started to move. It picked up speed rapidly and Katniss was caught off guard, flying forward and stumbling a bit. The person speaking to Fulvia leaped to his feet to catch her from falling. When she steadied herself she looked up to find herself staring into blue eyes. 

What the hell was Peeta Mellark doing on this train to the Capitol?

 

 


	3. Compliments

“Are you all right?” Peeta asked, his arms still wrapped around her. 

She pulled away, forcing him to let go. “I’m fine,” she muttered, looking past his broad shoulders and directing her attention to Fulvia.

“Why is he here?” she hissed at the pink-skinned woman. “I thought we had a deal.” 

“Peeta is going to the Capitol to give you some baking lessons as part of the training you’ll need for the show.” 

Katniss sat down on the couch across from Fulvia.   
  
“Why do I need baking lessons?” While Katniss waited for Fulvia to answer, Peeta sat down next to her. Immediately she shifted to put more space between their bodies.

“Katniss, this show is all about you finding a husband. If you’re going to be someone’s wife, it would help if you had some domestic skills. I know you hunt but it’s not a very feminine skill.”

As soon as Fulvia mentioned the purpose of the show, Katniss grew warm. She was embarrassed that Fulvia was discussing it in front of Peeta. Like she needed a television show to help her find a husband because no one in District 12 wanted her. 

She wondered what Peeta was thinking. How much had Fulvia told him about the show? Because other than her family and the little she had told Gale, no one was even supposed to be aware that she was involved. As far as Katniss knew the show had never even been advertised.

A waiter dressed in a white jacket and black pants entered the train car, carrying a tray. He set it on the dining table that was next to the window.

“Lunch is here,” Fulvia said. “Let’s move over to the table.”

Peeta and Katniss followed Fulvia and sat down. Katniss chose to sit next to Peeta, rather than across, because she didn’t want him staring at her while she ate. Cressida joined them, but Castor had disappeared. There was little conversation, as everyone focused on the food.

The meal arrived in courses. First they were served a thick carrot soup. It was followed by a green salad. The main course was lamb chops and mashed potatoes. Dessert included cheese, fruit, and chocolate cake. 

Katniss had never seen that much food served at one time. She ate so much that by the end, when she was licking the last bit of chocolate frosting from her fork, she was queasy. She sneaked a peek at Peeta who had eaten even more than her. He too, looked a bit nauseous. 

After the waiter had cleared the table, Fulvia directed them to another compartment of the train, which had several chairs and a sofa arranged around a large television. 

“The first advertisement for the show will be airing soon,” she announced.

Katniss sat in a chair, refusing to sit next to Peeta who had taken a seat on the sofa. A news program played on the television. It was a gossip show that had segments about the activities of Capitol celebrities that Katniss had never heard about. It ended with a short segment featuring Finnick Odair’s new beach house in District 4.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Fulvia said excitedly when Finnick’s face appeared on screen, “I may have nailed down Finnick to be the District 4 contestant for the show.” 

Katniss gulped. Finnick Odair would be one of the men wooing her? Finnick was something of a legend in Panem. Winner of the 65th _Hunger Games_ , he was tall and athletic, with golden skin, bronze-colored hair, and sea green eyes. He was clearly one of the most sensuous people on the planet. But Katniss could honestly say he’d never been attractive to her. The thought that he would be plying his charms on her was kind of creepy. 

It’s a good thing Gale will be there, she thought, starting to feel nervous thinking about all the male attention she’d soon be getting. 

Just then some loud music began to play on the television. Caesar Flickerman appeared sporting a midnight blue suit dotted with thousands of tiny electric bulbs that twinkled like stars. His hair was puffy blue, as well as his eyelids and lips.

“The big day has arrived,” Caesar announced. “The start of our newest television show is underway. Just this morning, Katniss Everdeen of District 12 left her home to travel to the Capitol to be transformed into the star of _The Match Game_.

Katniss nearly jumped out of her chair as she watched a clip of herself appear on the screen. She was hugging Prim, and then her mother before entering the car. As the car drove off, she saw her mother and sister waving and falling into each other’s arms before going back inside.

Immediately tears sprang to her eyes. She quickly blinked and wiped her hands across her face before they could fall down her cheeks. She’s only been away from home a couple of hours now and already she was homesick. Nothing here reminded her of home.

Peeta coughed softly, causing Katniss to turn her head to glance at him. He gave her a sympathetic look, but she steeled her face to refuse his pity.

The picture on the screen returned to a headshot of Caesar who said that Katniss was traveling by train to the Capitol where she would spend the next several days preparing for the start of the show. The twelve male participants would arrive in the Capitol later in the week.

The screen shot widened to show a panel of people, all freakishly coiffed and made up in the Capitol fashion with tinted skin and tattoos and odd hair colors. They were sitting behind a long counter next to Caesar. He introduced them as Capitol beauty experts and asked each of them in turn what they thought of Katniss’ appearance.

The first expert was a woman whose face had been surgically enhanced to look like a cat, with black and gold-stripped tattoos and whiskers implanted along the side of her flattened nose.

“The girl is too plain,” she explained. “Her hair is dull, her eyes are squinty, her lips too thin. Her body has no shape. They will have their work cut out for them.”

Katniss flinched as the freakish woman criticized her appearance. Her cheeks grew red. Did she need to listen to this?

“She’s a fine one to talk.” Katniss turned around to see Peeta muttering at the screen. 

The next expert was a man with red skin, red hair, and red eyes. “Where did they get this girl?” he laughed. “If she’s the best they can find in District 12, well that says it all.”

Feeling utterly humiliated, Katniss wished she could disappear. She’d seen mean-spirited t.v. shows like this before, but she’d never thought she’d be the target of the insults.

Behind her, Peeta snorted at the man’s critical remarks. “Where did they find this idiot?” he murmured. 

Katniss glared at Fulvia. “I don’t want to watch anymore of this.”

A sympathetic look crossed Fulvia’s face. “You realize that they do this first because it makes the show’s stylist look so much better after you’re made over. In just a few weeks all of Panem will be gushing over how beautiful you are.”

Fulvia’s words momentary brought comfort to Katniss, but then Cressida added, “once the show starts, every girl in Panem will want to be you. Every man in Panem will want to kiss you.” 

Feeling anxious, she stood up. “I’d like to rest now.” She was tired; her full stomach was making her sleepy. 

“Of course, that’s a good idea.” Fulvia gave her instructions on how to locate her sleeping quarters. Katniss started to leave the compartment when Peeta sprang to his feet. 

“I’d like to rest too,” he said. “Where do I go?”

“Just follow Katniss,” Fulvia said. “Your room is just past hers.”

“All right.” 

Katniss frowned. Why did Peeta have to follow her? She didn’t want to talk to him.

Peeta didn’t say anything as he walked behind her down the narrow corridor of the train to make their way to their compartments.

When she reached the door of her room and opened it, she gasped. Peeta, who had just walked past her, turned back to see what was the matter.

“Is anything wrong?” he called.

“No,” she muttered, upset with herself for drawing his attention. “It’s the room,” she explained. “I didn’t expect this.”

Peeta had returned to stand behind her, looking at the room from over her shoulder. 

Katniss had already thought the train was highly decorated with its fancy furnishings. But her sleeping quarters were so lavish that it surpassed the other rooms she’d already seen. 

The room was finely decorated with a small built-in sofa and intricately carved table on one end, and a double-sized bed on the other. A brocade comforter that was embroidered with yellow flowers covered the bed. A tiny vanity table, complete with a mirror was next to the door. 

“This is impressive,” Peeta agreed. 

He was standing so close behind her that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her ear as he spoke. A tiny shiver ran down her back and she stepped into the room to put space between them.

Instead of turning to leave, though, Peeta followed her into the room.

Kantiss turned to face him. “Isn’t your room just past mine?” she questioned, in an attempt to dismiss him.

“It is. I wonder if it’s as terrific as yours.”

“Why don’t you go and check it out,” Katniss suggested, hoping he’d get the message that she didn’t want him in her room.

“I will.” Peeta paused for a moment and his face grew serious. “Katniss, don’t listen to those t.v. commentators. They don’t know what they’re talking about. You’re the prettiest girl in District 12. That’s why you were picked to be on the show.”

He quickly turned and exited the room, shutting the door behind him. Katniss stood looking at the closed door, her face growing pinker by the moment.

Why would Peeta say that to her? She knew she wasn’t as homely as the commentators said, but she definitely wasn’t the prettiest girl in the district. Peeta lived in town. Blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls with buxom figures surrounded him. How could he think a scrawny Seam girl with grey eyes and dark hair could even begin to compare? 

Yawning, Katniss kicked off her shoes and lay down on the bed to rest. She’d hardly slept the past few nights due to nervousness.  It seemed like she’d only been resting a few minutes when she heard someone knocking at the door.

She got up quickly, feeling a bit dizzy for a moment from the motion of the train, and then walked over to open it. It was Peeta.

“Dinner is ready. Everyone is waiting for you.”

She nodded and then turned to slip on her shoes, which were lying next to the bed.

“Were you sleeping?” Peeta asked when she walked back to the door. “Your hair is..” His voice trailed off.

Katniss quickly glanced in the mirror above the vanity table. Her hair had been pinned up in a braid but strands of it had come out while she was sleeping and were sticking out all over her head. She quickly brushed her hands over it, trying to flatten it out. She walked to the door. 

“Wait, there’s still a bit,” Peeta said, reaching out to tuck a loose strand around her ear.

Katniss took a sharp intake of air and glared at him. Why would he do that?

But Peeta didn’t notice her agitation. He simply turned and led her down the corridor to the dining compartment.

Dinner was much the same as lunch. Katniss wasn’t very hungry, but still she managed to eat a green salad, steak, and apple cobbler for dessert. No one spoke much, except Peeta who questioned the train’s chef at length about his recipe for the cobbler when the older man visited the table.

Castor joined them for this meal. He didn’t say why he’d missed lunch and no one asked him.

When the meal was over, Fulvia suggested they all visit the television room again. Katniss declined.

“I think I’ll turn in early,” she said. She stood up to go when Peeta replied that he wanted to turn in as well.

“It’s been a long day,” he said.

Katniss scowled. Now she’d have to walk back to her room with Peeta. Why was he doing this to her? She had to thank him for that damn bread right now.

She walked ahead of him down the corridor, and stopped in front of her door, effectively blocking him.

“I know what you’re doing,” she said. “And I don’t like it one bit. Thank you for the bread Peeta. I’m sorry it took me seven years to tell you. I guess that was kind of rude of me.”

Peeta looked puzzled for a moment. “You mean the bread from when we were kids?” 

Katniss nodded, beginning to feel a bit flustered. Peeta barely remembered about the bread.

“Why?” she said aloud wondering why he had been staring at her for so many years, if it wasn’t because he wanted a thank-you for the bread. 

But Peeta misunderstood her question. “You were hungry. You were going though our garbage can looking for food.”

“No,” Katniss hissed, humiliated at the memory of her childhood self reduced to scrounging food from the garbage in order to feed her family. “Why did you stare at me so much? It started then, but it’s gotten far worse. At school, at the bakery…you’re always staring at me.”

Katniss watched the flush run across Peeta’s face until the ends of his ears grew pink. She’d never seen anything like it and she focused her eyes on the redness of his ears rather than the look of embarrassment in his blue eyes.

His voice sounded different when he answered, a bit lower and kind of muffled. “I already told you why Katniss. You’re the prettiest girl in our district. I guess I have an eye for beauty.”

She felt her cheeks grow warm at his compliment, even though she thought he was crazy to say those things to her. Was he trying to manipulate her in some way?

She turned away from him then to open the door to her compartment. “Good night,” she muttered and hurried into her room, slamming the door and locking it before Peeta could follow her inside.

Why was she letting Peeta get her upset?  He didn’t mean anything to her. Dismissing him from her thoughts, she saw that someone had been in her room and laid out a fancy nightgown and some lacy underwear on the bed. 

She grabbed it up and carried it into the small bathroom attached to her room. Quickly, she peeled off the orange dress Venia had given her to wear that morning and took a hot shower. It was her first shower ever. She thought it was like being in a summer rain, only warmer. She stayed until the water for a long time, washing her hair and skin thoroughly.

After she dressed for bed, she sat at the vanity table. She opened the center drawer and pulled out a comb. Slowly, she untangled her wet hair to braid it for bed. Suddenly she missed Prim so much. This was a task that each performed for the other after they washed their hair.

Would this be something Gale would ever do for her? She doubted it. She couldn’t picture her best friend performing such a tender act. She guessed it wasn’t a very manly thing to do.

But unbidden in her mind, she thought of someone who probably would do it – Peeta. She shook the though from her mind. What was wrong with her? A few compliments from him and she was getting unnerved. It had already been arranged. She was going to marry Gale.

 

 

 


	4. The Capitol

Katniss woke up the next morning to a knock on her door. She groaned, hoping it wasn’t Peeta with more flattery, but it was Cressida. The woman was holding a short-sleeved tunic and pants in a muted orange color, and a pair of tan slipper-like shoes.

“More orange,” Katniss muttered.

“Yes,” Cressida said. “Put it on quickly, and meet us in the dining car. We’ll be in the Capitol in an hour. You can have breakfast before we get there.”

Katniss arrived to see everyone was already eating.

“Sit down! Sit down!” Fulvia said, waving her over. The only empty chair was next to Peeta who was dressed in green from head to toe.

The moment Katniss slid into her chair, she was served an enormous platter of food. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes. Next to it sat a cup of a rich brown liquid.

She looked at the drink curiously. 

“It’s called hot chocolate,” Peeta said. “It’s delicious. Try it.” 

After taking a sip, she flashed him a faint smile of thanks and drank the entire mug, before turning her attention to her meal.

Everyone finished ahead of her, but stayed in their seats conversing about what lay ahead of them when they reached the Capitol.

Kantiss had been ignoring the conversation and concentrating on her meal when she heard Fulvia mention her name. She lifted her head from her plate and looked up at the pink-skinned woman.

“Katniss, when we arrive, I’ll be putting you in Cinna’s hands. He’s your stylist. You probably won’t like everything his team does to you, but don’t resist. Their goal is to make you the most desirable woman in Panem.

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll have five days of training to prepare you for the show.” 

When Fulvia finished speaking the train car went dark. Immediately Katniss felt a hand atop of her left hand that was resting on the table. It gave her a gentle, reassuring squeeze. 

She heard Cressida explain. “We’re in a tunnel going through the mountains. We’re almost there.”

After several minutes the train slowed down and bright light flooded the compartment. Katniss blinked quickly, adjusting to the light. She turned to glare at Peeta for touching her hand in the dark, but he’d already left his seat and was standing at the window watching the crowds that line the station.

“Peeta, stay away from the windows,” Fulvia admonished him. “I don’t want anyone to see you on this train.”

Peeta stepped back and returned to the table.

“Katniss, go look out the windows and wave. You’re the star.”

Reluctantly, she got up. They were entering the station now. It was far grander than the station in District 12. The Capitol was filled with bright colors, all of them looking artificial, the pinks too deep, the greens too bright, and the yellows painful to the eyes.

People waved and pointed at Katniss through the glass. “Who are they?” she questioned Fulvia. 

“They are your admirers,” Fulvia explained. “They’re excited about the new television show.” 

Katniss took a step back. She wasn’t prepared for this type of attention. Once the train stopped, Fulvia took her arm and led her out. There were armed Peacekeepers holding back the crowd which lined the way to the street where a large black car was parked. 

The people were dressed in all the colors of the rainbow and had the most outlandish hairstyles Katniss had ever seen. A Peacekeeper opened the car’s door and Fulvia pushed Katniss inside and then followed her, closing the door.

As the car pulled away from the curb, Katniss remembered the others. “What about Peeta, and Cressida, and Castor?” she asked. 

Fulvia laughed. “Don’t worry, we’ll meet up later.” 

It didn’t take long for the car to arrive at its destination. It pulled into an underground parking garage. Katniss got out and followed Fulvia into the lower level of the building, and then took a small elevator to the lobby. 

She’d rode in an elevator before in the Justice Building back in District 12, and this elevator was much the same, a dark and creaky thing that moved like a snail and smelled of sour milk.

The elevator opened into a tiny corridor. Katniss followed Fulvia out into a broad lobby with walls of white stone that were at least thirty feet high. It was empty, except for two guards that stood watch at a desk positioned near the front door of the building.

One of the guards nodded to Fulvia, who led Katniss to another elevator. Fulvia pushed a button on the wall.

“You’ll be staying in the penthouse apartment on the 12th floor. It’s where the District 12 tributes stayed when they were preparing for _The Hunger Games_.”

Katniss shivered at the grim thought that the previous occupants of the penthouse were all dead. The door to the elevator opened and the two women stepped inside. The back wall was glass that looked out toward the street.

Katniss watched in amazement as the crowds outside the building shrunk to the size of ants as they shot into the air. She was tempted for a moment to ask Fulvia if they could ride the elevator again, but thought better of it. 

The doors opened to a seating area with couches and armchairs facing a large fireplace. At one end of the room was a dining area with a table surrounded by chairs. On the other end of the room, Katniss saw an arched doorway and a long hallway.

“The sleeping quarters are down the hall.”

Katniss followed Fulvia down the brightly lit corridor. She passed a number of closed doors on both sides. “You’re room is the last door on the right.”

Fulvia opened it and Katniss stood behind her and looked in. The room was larger than her family’s home in District 12.

It had a seating area with a couch and chairs, and a small round table with two chairs. A large bed covered with a green comforter was off to one side. At the far end of the room was another door that led to a private bathroom.

“Do you like it?” Fulvia asked.

Katniss nodded.

“This will be your home for the next several weeks,” Fulvia pointed out.

Katniss stepped forward to look out of the large window across from the bed. Down on the street, she could see flashes of color as the citizens of the Capitol rushed past. She stood there for a while lost in her thoughts when she heard Fulvia cough.

“Time to go,” Fulvia’s voice took on a business-like tone. “I’ve got to get you down to the remake center. They’re waiting for you.” 

They took the glass elevator down to the lobby, exited and entered a second elevator that took them down to an underground level. “This is where they remade the tributes for _The Hunger Games_ ,” Fulvia said. 

Fulvia sounded like she thought Katniss would be impressed, but she wasn’t. Although the area was brightly lit, an aura of death and sadness hung in the air. Katniss didn’t have time to think about it for very long because Venia greeted her.

“I’m glad to see you again,” Venia said.

She had two other people with her, a man named Flavius, who had orange corkscrew locks and wore purple lipstick; and Octavia, a plump woman whose entire body had been dyed a pale shade of pea green.

Cressida and Castor were also there. “We need to tape parts of the makeover for the show,” Cressida explained.

“Take all your clothes off,” Venia told her.

Katniss looked around wildly. She was not going to strip down in front of all these people. Especially when she noticed Castor aiming a camera in her direction. She shook her head.

Fulvia laughed. “The people in the districts are so modest.”

Everyone chuckled at her comment. Katniss frowned. Venia handed her a thin robe and directed her to the adjacent bathroom. “Undress in there. Take everything off and put on the robe.”

Grudgingly, Katniss accepted the robe and went inside to change. When she came out, Fulvia had left. Venia directed her to a raised table and told her to lie down. 

Katniss stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes tightly as Venia pushed the robe up to the top of her thighs. She winced as Flavius applied hot wax on her legs.

“Just get a short segment,” Cressida told Castor. “We can come back later to get more. Watching someone get their legs waxed is hardly riveting television.”

Katniss kept her eyes closed. Within a few minutes she heard people leaving the room.

“It’s okay. They’re gone now,” Venia said.

Katniss opened her eyes. Only Venia, Flavius, and Octavia were in the room now.

“It’s time to get to work,” Venia said, untying the belt on the robe and pulling it off. 

Katniss closed her eyes again, as every bit of hair on her torso was covered with wax. The worst of it was when they removed the wax and the hair it covered. Katniss gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to cry out in pain, but the suffering was awful.

But it got worse, after all the hair was removed; they washed her body with gritty foam that removed not only dirt but also more layers of skin.

Once her body was worked over, Venia handed her the robe and guided her to a chair. Her hair was washed several times and various tonics were rubbed into her scalp. Her fingernails and toenails were buffed into uniform shapes and painted to bring out the natural shine.

Octavia carefully plucked her eyebrows and rubbed a foul smelling liquid over her face. After she removed the liquid, she had a small metal device that she used to pick at Katniss’ face to remove any imperfections.

The entire process took nearly four hours. When it was done, the three of them stood back to admire their handiwork. 

“Well, she’s at beauty base zero,” Venia said. “It’s a shame we’re not allowed to do any enhancements. She’s ready for Cinna now.”

Katniss’ skin was stinging and she felt like a plucked bird, ready for roasting. She was wearing the robe and fluffy slippers.

She watched as her prep team put their beauty supplies away, when a young man with brown skin and dark hair entered the room. He was dressed simply in a black shirt and pants. He didn’t look as outlandish as the other Capitolites. His only concession to self-alteration was metallic gold eyeliner that had been applied with a light hand.

“Hello Katniss, I’m Cinna.”

“Hello,” she replied cautiously.

“You have lovely hair,” he told her, as he admired her locks, which fell loosely across her shoulders. “Do you usually wear it down like this?”

“No. I usually put it in a braid.”

Cinna nodded and then led her into a nearby sitting room. There were two red couches facing each other with a low table placed between them. Katniss sat on one couch and Cinna took a seat across from her on the other couch.

He pressed a button on the table, and the top split open, revealing a second tabletop holding a luncheon feast. Two plates were on it, filled with chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce and placed on a bed of pearly white grain, tiny green peas and onions, rolls shaped like flowers, and for dessert a pudding the color of honey.

Cinna motioned for her to begin eating. Katniss hadn’t had any food since breakfast in the train. She was so hungry that she ate quickly. When she was done, she noticed that Cinna had barely taken a few bites. He wiped a napkin across his lips and pressed the same button as before. The split table closed covering the dirty dishes.

“Let’s talk,” he began. “I understand this show is about finding a husband for you. Have you ever been in love?”

Katniss flinched at Cinna’s direct question. “No,” she mumbled.

“You’re a pretty girl. Certainly there have been admirers?”

Katniss shook her head. When Peeta called her the prettiest girl in the district yesterday, it was the very first time anyone had ever said anything like that to her.

Was Peeta an admirer? No. He was just being kind to her, trying to cheer her up after those awful people had criticized her on television.

“Are you excited to be on _The Match Game_?”

Katniss caught Cinna’s eyes and frowned ever so slightly. He seemed kind. He was probably the most normal-looking person she had met that lived in the Capitol. She wanted to tell him the truth.

Cinna leaned forward. “What is it Katniss?” he asked softly. “Why are you here?”

“For my district,” she whispered.

“Hold that thought,” Cinna said. He got up and pushed a button on the side of the wall, which dimmed the bright lights considerably, and then returned to sit on the couch. 

“What do you mean?” 

Katniss told Cinna about the Capitol opening a medicine factory in District 12 if she agreed to star on the program. “There aren’t many job options other than the mines for people in my district.” 

“You care a lot about others.” 

Katniss shook her head. She didn’t think of herself as a particularly caring person at all. “I care about my sister Prim, and my mother, and my friends.” 

Her mind flashed to her best friend Gale and his family. Of course there was also Madge, Sae and Mr. Mellark. She suddenly thought of Peeta. He wasn’t a friend, exactly, but he had been a friendly reminder of home ever since she’d left for the Capitol. 

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit,” Cinna stated. “Hopefully at the end of this show you’ll find someone who will care as much for you as you care for everyone else.” 

Katniss was tempted to tell Cinna that that she already knew how the game would end, that the show was fixed and she would be forced to marry her best friend.

But she didn’t get the chance because Cinna changed the subject and began discussing the clothing he’d designed for her to wear on _The Match Game_. He said he had designed six different wedding dresses and that people across the nation would vote to select the dress she would wear.

Katniss tried to pay attention to Cinna’s description of the dresses, but the late lunch she’d gobbled down made her drowsy. Her eyes gradually grew heavy and she yawned a couple of times. Noticing her lack of attention, Cinna ended their meeting.

He directed her back to the room she had been prepped in and instructed her to put on a pair of grey pants and a snug yellow blouse that had been set out for her. Flat black shoes finished the simple outfit.

When she was done dressing, Cressida and Castor appeared and filmed a brief interview session with her.

“How do you feel?” Cressida asked.

“Very clean,” Katniss replied.

“Really Katniss, that’s all you can say,” Cressida moaned. “You feel clean?” 

“I’m tired, my skin is stinging, and I want to lay down and take a nap.” 

“Okay, we’ll wrap it up for now.” 

Castor turned the camera off and Cressida led Katniss to the elevator. Soon they were in the large lobby. Cressida pushed the elevator button for Katniss. When the doors opened, Cressida shoved her in.

“Get some rest. We’ll be up later for dinner.”

The doors shut leaving Katniss alone to stare out over the Capitol and ride up to her penthouse living quarters.

When the elevator doors opened, she walked out into the living area, kicked off her shoes, and flopped onto the couch. She was tired. She could hardly believe that she’d left District 12 only yesterday morning. She turned her body so she was facing the back of the couch, curled herself into a tiny ball and drifted off to sleep, wishing that when she’d wake up she’d find that it was all just a bad dream.

 

 


	5. The Penthouse

_She was standing at the mine entrance. It was her first day of work. She was pushed along with the crowd into the elevator for the long ride down into the bowels of the earth. The elevator light was dim but she could see the men surrounding her, some of them as old as her father would have been if he had lived._

_“You’re Everdeen’s daughter,” one of the men said.  She nodded. The squeak of the elevator car as it plunged down the shaft was unsettling. The car swayed a bit and she nearly lost her footing, bumping her shoulder into the man standing next to her. How would she be able to do this day after day, year after year?_

_Suddenly the lights went out. One of the men cursed. Her heart skipped a beat. It seemed to be falling even faster now. Her body felt out-of-control. She heard someone whimpering and then realized she was making the noise._

_But then everything changed, instead of falling downward; she was rushing forward in the dark. Going through a tunnel. Where was the end? Where was the light? Someone was squeezing her hand, but then the person grabbed at her shoulders._

“No, let go,” she screamed, flailing her arms.

“Ouch,” she heard a familiar voice and she opened her eyes to see Peeta squatting down next to the couch, rubbing his palm across his jaw.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice was sharp.

“You were having some kind of nightmare,” he explained. “You seemed upset. I was trying to wake you up.”

“Oh.” She paused for a moment, and then noticed the red mark on his chin. “Did I hit you?”

“Yeah, but it’s okay.”

She scooted her body to the back of the couch and sat up. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.”

He stood up. “No need to apologize.”  

Katniss noticed immediately that his hairstyle had changed. It was shorter. His natural blonde waves had been slicked down. He looked different. Polished. 

“Did you get a haircut?”

He grinned and rubbed his hand over the top of his head, messing it up a bit and causing a few curls to spring free. “Yeah, I had a makeover of my own this afternoon." 

“Oh.”

The conversation died.

“Well, I better get back and check on the food,” Peeta said. 

“What food?”

“I’m cooking dinner for us right now.”

“What?!”

“Come see.”

Peeta walked off toward the dining area and Katniss got up and followed him. When he got to the wall, he pushed and a hidden door opened revealing a large kitchen. 

Katniss was amazed. She had no idea there was a kitchen behind the dining room wall. She followed Peeta into the brightly lit room. There was a big island in the center and shiny white cabinets running along two walls. Off to the side was a seating area that had small table with two chairs and a short sofa.

“I had no idea,” Katniss said. “When Fulvia showed me around, she never showed me this area.” 

“It’s fully stocked, too,” Peeta pointed out, opening the refrigerator to show a glass bottle filled with milk, a basket of eggs, different cheeses covered with a clear wrapper, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. He opened the freezer door at the top of the refrigerator revealing packages wrapped in brown paper and labeled. 

“Different kinds of meat,” Peeta said. “I didn’t see any squirrel, though.”

He smiled at her and caught her eye for a moment, but she quickly turned away. She was not here to make friends with Peeta.

He didn’t seem to notice her disapproval though, because he turned to the stove and lifted the lid on one of the pots that was simmering on the large eight-burner stove.

“What’s that?” Katniss gasped as an indescribable smell filled the room.

“Lamb stew,” Peeta said, slowly stirring the pot. “I added some dried plums to sweeten it. Would you like a taste?”

Even though she had eaten a late lunch with Cinna, the stew smelled so delicious that Katniss decided she did want a taste. 

“All right.”

Peeta opened a nearby drawer and pulled out a clean spoon. He dipped it into the pot, scooping up some of the broth that contained a small piece of meat, a bit of plum, and a small chunk of carrot. He blew on it softly.

“It’s hot,” he warned. He held out the spoon for Katniss to take a bite.

Hesitantly she stepped closer to him and opened her mouth. He gently placed the spoon in her mouth. She closed her lips around it, licking the contents off of the spoon with her tongue, as Peeta slowly pulled the spoon away.

She smiled as soon as she had swallowed the small taste of the hearty stew. “It’s very good.”

Peeta grinned at her compliment. 

“What else are you making?” She inhaled deeply. “I smell bread.”

“I’m making soda bread to go with it.”

A puzzled look came over Katniss’ face. Peeta explained.

“You add baking soda to the flour and yeast, also buttermilk, which is soured milk. There wasn’t any here, so I added some vinegar to the fresh milk…”

“How do you know how to do all this?” Katniss interrupted.

“We make it sometimes at the bakery.”

“Oh.”

“I can teach you. That’s why I’m here.”

Katniss’ mood dampened as she remembered exactly why _she_ was here. The past two days had been so different than anything she’d ever experienced that it had been easy to put off thinking about why she _was_ here.

A beeper sounded and Katniss jumped. 

“It’s the oven,” Peeta explained. He pulled out the bread, which was round like a cake, instead of loaf-shaped, and set it on the counter.  He also pulled out an apple pie, and placed it next to the bread.

Glancing at the pie, made Katniss remember the apple tree she’s sat under behind Peeta’s house, nine years earlier when she was starving. When he threw her the bread that had saved the lives of her and her family. When his simple kindness had jolted her into an understanding that she could survive. That her family would make it.

Suddenly she was very embarrassed about the way she’d been treating Peeta. He’d been nice to her even since they left District 12. It was her own pride that had refused to acknowledge that he had helped her to rescue her family so many years ago.

She was amazed he even agreed to come to the Capitol. She wondered what he getting out of all this?

“Why did you agree to teach me to bake?” she asked him, as he stirred the stew.

His face turned pink and he didn’t say answer right away. “I didn’t have any other choice,” he blurted out, turning to face her.

“What do you mean?”

His face grew pinker. His voice lowered. “Fulvia was very clear about how things would play out if I didn’t participate.” 

“Oh.” What had Fulvia told Peeta? She didn’t have time to ask him more about it because she was interrupted. 

“Katniss, where are you?” 

It was Fulvia. She joined them in the kitchen. At her side was Effie Trinket, the crazy woman who had come to District 12 for so many years to put her hand in the reaping bowl and call out the names of the tributes for _The Hunger Games_. 

Effie was dressed in one of her usual outlandish getups and over-the-top wigs, although Kantiss now realized that Effie’s look was somewhat refined compared to some of the other Capitol citizens she’d already seen since her arrival. 

“Katniss, this is Effie Trinket,” Fuvia introduced her. “She’ll be training you in proper etiquette.”

“Hello, my dear Katniss,” Effie said, reaching out for her hand.

Startled to see the woman who was the Capitol’s representative for _The Hunger Games_ , Katniss muttered a quick “hi,” and looked at the ground.

“Katniss, look into my eyes when you speak to me,” Effie insisted. “If you want to win the hearts of Panem you need good manners.”

 Kantiss frowned. She didn’t want to win anyone’s heart. Reluctantly she looked into Effie’s eyes.

“See, it wasn’t that difficult,” Effie said, smiling back at her.

“Now who is this young man?” Effie asked Fulvia, as she smiled at Peeta.

“This is Peeta Mellark. He is also from District 12. He is here to give Katniss some baking lessons.”

“Wonderful,” Effie said. “It looks like school has already started.”

She smiled at Katniss, knowingly. “You know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

Katniss scowled.

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Mellark?” Effie asked.

“I thought it was through his chest,” Peeta joked, catching Katniss’ eye and turning her scowl into a faint smile.

It was Effie’s turn to frown.

“Looks like the food is about done,” Peeta said. “We can carry everything out to eat.”

“How quaint to serve ourselves,” Effie said, as she carried the pie out of the kitchen and into the dining area. The others followed carrying the rest of the food, along with plates and silverware. Peeta went back into the kitchen to get glasses and a pitcher of cider.

Within minutes the four of them were eating the lamb stew, dipping the soda bread into it. When they were finished, Peeta cut the pie and everyone had a slice.

After the meal, Fulvia outlined Katniss’ activities for the next few days.

“You’ll be on a strict schedule. Baking lessons every morning with Peeta. Etiquette lessons after lunch with Effie. Late afternoons with Cinna who will help you develop a sense of style. We will also be doing a photo shoot during that time that will appear in one of the best magazines in Panem.”

Katniss nodded, as she fiddled nervously with her napkin.

“In five days, you’ll be appearing on Caesar Flickerman’s t.v. interview show. He’ll be introducing you to the country as the star of _The Match Game._ He’ll also be introducing the twelve men who will be attempting to win your heart.”

Katniss had been looking at Fulvia as she spoke, making eye contact just as Effie had told her to do, but she stole a quick glance at Peeta when Fulvia mentioned the twelve men who would be wooing her.

A strange look crossed his face. She couldn’t tell if it was worry or jealousy or frustration, all she knew was that he didn’t look very happy. But it passed quickly and his face returned to a mask of indifference.

“Do you have any questions, Katniss?” Fulvia asked.

“How long will the show last?” she asked.

“Before you meet the man of your dreams and get married in a big Capitol wedding?” Effie interrupted. “I bet you’re looking forward to that.”

A look of horror passed Katniss’ face. “Um.., “ she started but Fulvia broke in.

“Three weeks.”

Peeta, who had remained quiet during the conversation, suddenly broke in. “That’s awfully quick. We take things of this nature a lot slower in District 12.”

Grateful to him for his argument, weak though it was, Katniss flashed him an appreciative look.

“This is television Peeta,” Fulvia explained. “We’re on a schedule. Anyway, Katniss has the whole rest of her life to fall in love with the husband she chooses.”

A quick frown flitted cross Peeta’s face.

What’s he so upset about? Katniss thought. It’s my problem. She wondered if she would ever fall in love with Gale. Maybe. But would he love her back or only be angry with her for involving him in the first place?

Peeta got up and cleared the table while Fulvia and Effie talked about the television show. Katniss sat and listened. After a while Effie stood up.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Katniss,” she said, as she headed down the hallway toward the bedrooms.

“Effie’s staying here?” she questioned Fulvia.

“Yes. We thought it would be best to have a chaperone since Peeta is staying here also. We want everything to appear proper.”

“Peeta is staying here too?” Katniss was surprised.

“Why of course, Fulvia said. “It seemed convenient to have him nearby for your baking lessons.”

“Oh.” 

“Now you should probably get some rest as well,” she told Katniss. “I need to talk to Peeta privately. She stood up, clearly dismissing Katniss, and walked to the kitchen.

Katniss left the table and returned to her bedroom. She entered the bathroom and saw a large stone-tiled shower. It was so much bigger than the small enclosure in the train.

Making sure both the bedroom and bathroom doors were locked, she stripped down and stood under the water for a long time, testing the various buttons that lined the wall of the shower. Each of them had a different feature, spraying water from a different direction, or shooting different kinds of soap, or perfume out at her.

Afterwards, she put on a blue nightgown made of a soft fabric that she found in the dresser in the room. She stood at the window looking down at the citizens of the Capitol. It was dark, but the streets were well lit. She stared at them a long time, wondering about the people who lived here and why they would care about the life of a girl from the Seam.

 

 


	6. Lessons

Bright sunlight filled the bedroom as Katniss studied the clothing hanging in her closet. Most of it was the same muted orange color that she’d been dressed in when she left District 12.

Tired of the color, she chose the only green-colored outfit she saw, a long shirt that came with a matching pair of pants in a slightly darker shade. She re-braided her hair, which had gotten messy while she slept, and then left the room in search of food.

Effie and Peeta were already at the dining table eating breakfast. There was a large platter filled with pancakes, a tray of sliced strawberries, a pitcher of golden brown syrup, and a pan filled with sausages. 

“This is delicious Peeta,” Effie said. She looked over at Katniss, who had taken a seat. “How sweet. The two of you match.”

Katniss glanced over to see that Peeta was wearing a green shirt as well. She scowled.

“Well, I didn’t have much choice of color,” she complained. “It was either this or that awful orange again.” 

Peeta grinned. “Orange isn’t awful. In fact that shade you had on the other day is my very favorite color of all.”

Katniss frowned. Why were they dressing her in Peeta’s favorite color?  She had told Venia that her favorite color was green. If Peeta had shared his favorite color with Venia, as well, could she have mixed up their answers? That was the only thing that made any sense.

“Well, I don’t hate orange,” she backtracked. “But my favorite color is green.”

“You don’t have to apologize Katniss,” Peeta said. “You look nice in every color.”

Katniss’ flushed, and immediately began to fill her plate. When it was full, Peeta grabbed the jug. 

“I made some hot chocolate. Would you like some?”

She nodded, pleased that he had remembered how much she liked it.

While they were eating, Effie went over the day’s schedule. “Peeta will give you a baking lesson this morning. This afternoon you and I will go over techniques on how to attract a man.”

Katniss’ eyes opened wide at Effie’s words. She’d been swallowing hot chocolate at that very moment, when suddenly she began to choke as the liquid ran the wrong way down her throat. She set the cup down and grabbed at the cloth napkin on the table to cover her mouth as she coughed. Her eyes watered.

It took a minute or two for her to be able to breath normally.

“Are you all right?” Effie questioned.

“Yes,” Katniss whispered, her voice hoarse from choking. 

Effie continued speaking. “Cinna will meet with you later for a photo shoot.” 

Effie stood up. “Well, I have a lot to take care of this morning. She’s all yours now Peeta.”  Effie left the dining area and headed out of the apartment.

Katniss hadn’t looked at Peeta while Effie was speaking because she was so embarrassed by the woman’s nonchalant description of the advice she would be imparting to her that afternoon. What would Peeta think?

But she argued to herself. What did it matter what he thought? 

Fortunately, Peeta didn’t mention Effie’s comments. Instead he began to clear the table, carrying everything into the kitchen. Katniss stood up and helped. Peeta rinsed the dirty plates in the sink and then opened a metal cupboard and placed them inside.

“What is that?” Katniss asked curiously. 

“It’s a machine that washes the dishes. Fulvia showed it to me last night.”

Once the leftovers were put away in the refrigerator and the dishwasher was turned on, Peeta faced Katniss. “I thought we could make some cheese buns. You like them, don’t you?”

Katniss nodded. She loved the cheese buns from Mellark’s Bakery. “How did you know?”

She’d never bought them before, but occasionally Mr. Mellark had put a couple of them in the bag when she’d sold him squirrels.

“I saw you enjoying one after a trade one day,” he admitted.

She remembered that day. Mr. Mellark had given Katniss and Gale each a cheese bun, warm from the oven. They’d left the back door of the bakeshop and she had taken a small bite of the bun. She’d meant to save the rest for Prim, but it was so good, she couldn’t stop herself. She ended up stuffing the entire bun into her mouth.

Gale had laughed at her, and she couldn’t respond because her mouth was full. She’d turned away from Gale and noticed Peeta in the yard feeding the pig. He’d grinned at her, as well, which only had made her angrier. She’d stomped away quickly forcing Gale to rush to catch up to her.

“Oh,” she muttered, embarrassed that Peeta remembered the incident.

She watched as he assembled the ingredients for the recipe on the counter. He had flour, yeast, butter, and a few different balls of cheese he’d pulled out of the refrigerator.

“They’re fairly easy to make,” he explained. “It’s basically bread dough shaped into balls with cheese inside. When it’s almost done baking, you sprinkle a bit more cheese on top, and then put it back into the oven to finish. When you take them out of the oven, brush them with a bit of butter.”

He pointed to a large mixing bowl on the counter. He put some warm water in a cup and dropped a pinch of yeast into it. “Stir this until it dissolves,” he told Katniss.  She stepped forward and took the large wooden spoon he handed her.

Meanwhile he set to work cutting the white cheese into chunks. “You can fill it with any kind of cheese. We generally use cheese made from cow’s milk at the bakery, but any kind will work.”

Within a short time, the buns were in the oven cooking. Their conversation had been very business-like, but now as they sat waiting at the small table for the buns to cook, Katniss began to feel awkward. Unconsciously she played with the end of her braid.

Peeta had made a cup of tea for both of them, and while they sipped at it he began to talk about the different kinds of specialty breads that each district favored.

“You know a lot,” Katniss said when he finished.

“Just about bread.”

Katniss sniffed. The kitchen was starting to smell like the bakery. “Are the buns ready?” she asked.

Peeta set down his cup. “We need to sprinkle some cheese on the top,” he said, as he stood up. 

While the buns were cooling, Peeta showed Katniss how to make a piecrust. When she had finished mixing everything together, he told her it would have to chill for at least an hour. Then he pulled out some chilled dough.

“I made this earlier.”

“This morning?” 

“Before I made the pancakes,” he explained, as he set it on the counter and handed her a rolling pin. 

“Peeta why are you doing all this?” she asked. 

“Because I’m supposed to be teaching you how to bake.”

“No, why are you preparing all the meals? Don’t they have chefs here in the Capitol?”

Peeta didn’t say anything for a moment. He continued laying out the ingredients for the pie filling. “They do,” he said. “But since I was staying here, I offered to cook the meals.”

He sprinkled some flour on the counter and set the chilled dough down in the center of it. He handed Katniss a rolling pin.

She first pounded at the dough with her fist, and then slowly rolled the pin back and forth over the dough to flatten it. “Is this right?” she asked, looking up at him.

He nodded, and Katniss noticed a light dusting of flour on his cheek. Without thinking, she reached up to brush it away with the back of her hand. Peeta froze at her touch and Katniss immediately got flustered.

She lowered her head, focusing on the dough. “You’re a good cook,” she said, trying to draw attention away from her innocent action. “Who taught you?” 

“My father.” 

Katniss was surprised. Cooking was considered women’s work in the Seam. She never would have guessed that the baker was a good cook, as well. 

She surveyed the tray of cheese buns that had cooled on the counter. “What are you doing with all of these? This is far more than we can possibly eat.” 

Peeta nodded. “Fulvia said to box up all the extra baked goods. She’s going to bring them to her office for everyone there.” 

Katniss smiled faintly, doubting that Fulvia would be sharing the cheese buns with anyone.

Once the peach pie was in the oven, Peeta began preparing the food for lunch. Katniss sat at the table watching as Peeta cooked noodles, drained the water from the pot and set them aside. Next, he sautéed meat in one pan and steamed some vegetables in another. When everything was done, he combined all of it in a single pan and added a variety of spices.

The aroma of the meal scented the air, making Katniss’ mouth water.

“Katniss, Peeta,” Effie called. “Where are you?”

“In the kitchen,” Peeta called.

“It smells lovely in here,” Effie said, after entering the room. “Peeta, you’re going to get me fat.”

“Effie, you’re nowhere near fat,” Peeta said.

Effie smiled at his remark and then helped them carry the meal out to the dining table.

After they finished eating, Effie and Katniss sat while Peeta cleared away the leftover food.

“Let’s get down to work,” Effie said. “This afternoon we’re going to talk about flirting. It’s a key way to get a man’s attention.”

Peeta walked into the room to carry off the last of the dirty plates. He caught Katniss’ eye and smiled, but she quickly turned away wondering if he had been paying attention to Effie’s lesson. Effie didn’t speak until he had left the room and closed the door behind him.

“First of all, you need to look people in the eye,” Effie said. “Peeta just made eye contact with you and you looked away. You can’t do that.” 

“But I’m not flirting with Peeta.” 

“Yes, but he’s here and he’s male. You can certainly practice on him.”

Even though she wasn’t interested in him in that way, Katniss didn’t think it was right to use Peeta to practice flirting. He’d likely get the wrong impression.

Effie continued. “You have lovely hair, Katniss. Twirling a strand around your finger while you’re chatting with a man is a sign that you’re interested in him. Even better would be to touch him lightly on the hand, or arm, or cheek. That definitely indicates interest. 

“You need to be friendly. Compliment him. Get his attention by showing off your talents.”

As Effie went through her checklist, Katniss came to a sudden realization. Ever since she’d left District 12, Peeta Mellark had been flirting with her. A lot.

He was always trying to catch her eye. He’d touched her hair on the train, he’d squeezed her hand when they’d gone through the tunnel. He’d tried to hold her still when she’d woken from the nightmare. He’d been kind, complimenting her on many occasions, even telling her she was the prettiest girl in the district.  He’d even volunteered to cook all the meals, showing off his talents in the kitchen ever since they’d arrived.

Why would Peeta flirt with her? He knew she was destined to marry one of the men who were on the show.

Was he using her to practice his flirting techniques? Did he plan to go back to District 12 and use his skills with some merchant girl? That thought irritated her. She felt used enough already – she was sacrificing her future to bring jobs to District 12.

Effie’s time with her passed quickly enough. Peeta never left the kitchen, though, and Katniss began to wonder what he was doing in there.

Soon Cinna arrived with Venia and another man who carried a large camera and some lights on a pole. Venia was pulling a rolling rack filled with colorful outfits. She dragged it down the hallway to Katniss’ bedroom.

Effie left the penthouse again, saying she had some appointments.

“How are you doing?” Cinna greeted Katniss.

“Fine,” she muttered.

“Good then. We’ll be doing a photo shoot this afternoon.”

He directed Katniss to her bedroom where Venia put her in a pink dress that fell just above her knees. She unbraided Katniss’ hair, curling the ends and leaving it to fall across her shoulders. Then she made her face up to look like a doll’s, with pouty lips and liner to draw attention to her silver eyes.

“Where are the shoes?” Katniss asked, when she was completely dressed.

“You’re supposed to be barefooted for the pictures,” Venia said.

“Why?”

“It tells a story,” she explained.

Katniss wondered what kind of story it told about a woman who could afford to dress nicely, but didn’t have any shoes.

Cinna came into the room when her costume was complete. He frowned. 

“Do I look alright?” Katniss asked him. “There aren’t any shoes.” 

“You look exactly how they wanted you to look.” 

“Then why are you frowning?” 

Cinna didn’t answer her question. Instead he reached for her hand to lead her to the living area where the photographer had set up the lights.

“Sit back on the sofa,” the photographer directed. “Kick your legs up to the side so we can see your bare feet.” He handed her a book. “Open it, and pretend to be reading.”

She followed his directions. When she opened the book, though it was filled with pictures, rather than words. Picture of men and women in various states of undress. Her eyes opened wide and her face grew warm. Immediately she slammed the book shut. 

The loud slam of the closed book drew the attention of Cinna, who was standing nearby.

“Give me that book, Katniss.”

She handed it to him. He looked at the title, and then growled at the photographer.

“This is completely inappropriate.”

Cinna gave her an apologetic look.

“Hurry it up,” he growled at the photographer.

The man gave Katniss a magazine instead. “Open this and pretend you’re reading it.”

Katniss took the magazine and opened it to the middle. It was a two-page spread depicting the latest Capitol fashions. Her mouth dropped open. The women looked so freakish she could hardly believe it.

“Freeze,” the photographer called out as he circled her taking photos from many angles.

When he was finished, Cinna directed her back to the bedroom to change her clothes. Venia put her in a flowered dress and tied a frilly apron around her waist. She re-arranged Katniss’ hair into a messy bun with curls hanging down along the sides of her face. Katniss remained barefoot. When she left her room, the photographer told her to go into the kitchen. He said he wanted to get some shots of her cooking.

Katniss pushed open the kitchen door and saw Peeta standing in front of the stove stirring something in a large pot. He must have spent the afternoon baking; the island was covered with trays of cooling cupcakes. It looked like he was operating a smaller version of Mellark’s Bakery.

Peeta turned and she noticed his eyes grow big as he saw her. His sleeves were rolled up and he’d tucked a white dishtowel into the front of his pants to serve as an apron.

“He wants to take some photos in here,” she said, her face turning pink in embarrassment, as the photographer and Cinna followed her in. She sat down at the table and Peeta turned off the heat on the stove’s burners and stepped back, joining Katniss at the table.

When the photographer had the lights in place, he called Katniss to the stove and had her stir the stew Peeta had made. He directed her to stand on her toes and lift one of her legs up a bit to show off her bare feet, even telling her to point her toes. He took photos of her stirring the pot, and then photos of her licking the spoon with her tongue sticking out.

“Hey chef, I need you up here too,” he called to Peeta, who had been watching from the table. 

Peeta stood up and the photographer directed him to feed Katniss a spoonful of the stew that was on the stove. 

The entire scene was so fake and so prolonged that Katniss wanted to cringe. “Smile,” the photographer called out to her. “Stick out your tongue. Lick your lips. Make a pouty face.” He snapped what seemed like a hundred photographs of her pretending to taste the stew that Peeta was spoon-feeding her.

Finally, they were done. Katniss’ face was sore from faking a smile for so long. Peeta tried to catch her eye, but she quickly looked away. She was embarrassed and her muscles were aching from holding the awkward positions. She wanted to return to her room and get out of this ridiculous get-up.

“Am I done?” she asked Cinna.

He nodded.

“I’m going to change then.”

Venia had already left when she arrived in her room. She locked her bedroom door, undressed, and took a long shower to wash off the make up and the disgusting feeling she’d experienced while being photographed. 

It wasn’t long after she dressed that Effie was knocking at her door, calling her for dinner.

Only Effie appeared to enjoy the meal. Peeta had a worried look on his face and picked at his food. He’d spent their other meals conversing with Effie, but tonight he seemed strangely silent.

Katniss picked at her dinner as well. She’d eaten more food in the past few days than she’d eaten in the previous two weeks at home. For the first time in a long time, she could truly say she wasn’t hungry.

When they were finished, Peeta cleared the table while Effie asked Katniss about the photo session. Katniss frowned and gave minimal answers, but Effie didn’t seem to notice.

After a while Peeta returned to the dining room.

“Guess, I’ll turn in,” Effie told the two of them. She winked at Katniss. “Remember what we talked about this afternoon.”

A look of panic crossed Katniss’ face. Was Effie going to leave her alone with Peeta so she could practice flirting?

As soon as Effie left the room, Katniss turned to Peeta. “It’s been a long day. I think I’ll..” 

Peeta interrupted her. “Katniss, did you know there is a rooftop garden above us?”

Katniss shook her head.

“Cinna showed it to me before dinner. You can see the whole city from up there.”

Katniss paused. Why did Peeta want her to go up to the roof with him? Was this another one of his flirting techniques?

She was ready to tell him `no,’ but she noticed something in his eyes, like he wanted to tell her something. Why couldn’t he tell her here? Why did they need to go up to the roof?

“All right,” she agreed hesitantly. “How do we get up there?”

She followed him down the hallway, past all the bedrooms to a door at the very end.

“Just a minute, we need to prop it open or we’ll be locked out.” He hurried back into his room, which was across the hall from Kantiss’, and came out carrying a small decorative statue of a bird. He opened the door for Katniss, and then following her inside the stairwell, he turned and set the statue on its side next to the doorframe.

At the top of the stairs was the roof, which was surrounded by a railing. Straight ahead was a flat area, but off to the right was a large garden with raised flowerbeds and potted trees. From the branches hung hundreds of wind chimes. They were tinkling loudly because of the breeze.

Katniss and Peeta walked over to the railing and looked down at the street, which was buzzing with people. Even though they were high above ground level, the noise of traffic could still be heard.

“What do you think of the Capitol?” Peeta asked.

“Well, I haven’t seen very much, but it’s certainly different than District 12.”

“It is,” Peeta agreed. He was quiet for a moment. “Would you like to see the garden?

“Okay.”

She followed him over to the other side of the roof, joining him on a stone bench that sat in the garden’s center pathway. The noise of the wind chimes was louder here. Peeta scooted close to her, leaned over and spoke loudly into her ear.

“There are cameras all over the penthouse,” he said.

A puzzled look crossed her face, as she moved away from him. “What do you mean?”

He moved closer to her and put his mouth to her ear again. “Everything you do and say is being filmed.”

She moved away from him. “They probably need some background footage for the show,” she explained, wondering why he was acting so mysterious.

He moved closer to her, cupping his hand over his mouth. “No, they are recording everything that goes on in there and airing it live on television in the Capitol. When we made the cheese buns and the pie, when you worked with Effie this afternoon, the entire photo shoot – people watched it on television as it was happening. Cinna took me up here and told me about it after the photo shoot. That’s why there’s no television in the penthouse. They don’t want you..well, either of us, to know about it.”

She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was being spied on. Fulvia had never mentioned this at all. Katniss never would have agreed to this complete violation of her privacy.

She leaned into Peeta, cupping her hand around her mouth the same way he had. “Where are the cameras? Are they in the bedrooms?” Her voice grew panicked as she thought about people watching her change her clothes. Watching her shower. Remembering how everyone had laughed at her for refusing to strip down in front of them for her beauty makeover. “Are they in the bathrooms?”

Peeta shook his head. “I don’t know. Cinna pointed one of them out to me in the kitchen. The camera is imbedded into the wall. There’s one right above the stove.”

She nodded, then shivered in the cool breeze and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are they watching us now?” If they were on television right now, she guessed it looked like she and Peeta were on the roof telling secrets, as they were huddled together speaking into each other’s ears.

Peeta’s face was glum. He put his hand against his face to block his lips  “I don’t know. Cinna said the noise of the wind chimes would drown out the sound. He wanted me to tell you, though. He wanted you to know.”

She smiled tightly. She was thankful for one friend in the Capitol. “Do you think Effie knows?” she leaned in.

“I was wondering about that,” Peeta said, continuing to block his lips. “I think she might. It seems like she’s acting most of the time. She’s too chirpy.”

Katniss snorted. “I think that’s her personality.” She grew serious. “What are we going to do?” she mouthed.

Peeta shook his head. “I don’t know,” he whispered into her ear. “We should probably go back now.”

He stood up and walked toward the stairs. Katniss followed him. When they got back to the hallway, Peeta picked up the bird statue and closed the door to the roof. He reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “Goodnight, Katniss,” he said. “Don’t worry. It will be all right.”


	7. Revelations

Katniss closed the bedroom door. Her mind was reeling with the information Peeta had disclosed. She stood in the center of the room, twisting her head around to scan for cameras. She didn’t see any obvious holes in the wall. She went into the bathroom to look. She didn’t notice anything there either, but she raced through her nightly activities, avoiding the shower.

When she returned to her room, she pulled the nightgown from the dresser drawer and crawled under the bedcovers to change. She turned off the bedside lamp, but it took her a long time to fall asleep. 

She woke up to Effie rapping on her door. “Time for breakfast.”

Katniss leaped out of bed to catch Effie before she walked away. “There’s something wrong with my shower,” she said. “Could I use yours?”

A look of surprise crossed Effie’s face, but she agreed. Katniss quickly gathered up her clothing and hurried to Effie’s bedroom. The bedroom and bath were similar to her own, with one exception. Effie’s room had a television mounted on the wall across from the bed.

She suspected Effie’s bathroom was free of cameras, but she showered and dressed quickly, in case she was wrong. 

“We’ll have to get someone in to fix your shower,” Effie said as they sat down to a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. 

“Is it broken?” Peeta asked casually, catching Katniss’ eye. 

“I believe so,” she said exchanging the glance. 

After breakfast, Katniss followed Peeta into the kitchen for her baking lesson. He handed her an apron to wear.

“I put the recipe for the cheese buns into the pocket,” he told her. “I’m sure you’d like to make them some time.” He smiled and her cheeks turned pink.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, reaching into the pocket and touching the folded sheet of paper. She hadn’t asked him for the recipe, but she did like those cheese buns.

He set her to work making cookies. They made three kinds: snickerdoodles, chocolate-chip, and butter cookies. While they baked, Peeta showed her how to make a thin frosting from powdered sugar and milk. Once it was completed and the butter cookies had cooled, they both iced them.

Conversation was kept to a minimum; it mainly focusing on baking instructions. It was as if they had both agreed to bore the viewers. For a moment though, while they were frosting the butter cookies, Katniss forgot about the cameras and asked Peeta which cookie was his favorite. She was surprised to learn that it was snickerdoodles. She’d always associated Peeta with the decorated butter cookies the bakery sold; she had assumed he liked those best.

When he was done speaking, he tilted his head toward the wall behind the stove and she saw what looked like a tiny light in the wall above it. She nodded back at him and stopped her personal questions. 

The cooking lesson ended early, and Katniss helped Peeta make sandwiches for lunch. When she removed her apron, Peeta reminded her to be sure to take the recipe. Katniss pulled out the folded sheet and shoved it into the pocket of the pants she was wearing. 

After lunch, Peeta returned to the kitchen. As soon as he left the room, Effie leaned in to Katniss. “I see you went up to the roof with Peeta last night.” 

Katniss narrowed her eyes. How did Effie know that? Was she watching them on the television that hung on the wall in her bedroom?

She wanted to lash out at the woman, tell her she’d never agreed to being spied on, but she didn’t because she knew her every word was being televised. Instead she simply explained that Cinna had showed Peeta the garden on the roof and he’d offered to show it to her. “I spend most of my time outside in District 12,” Katniss said. “I’ve been cooped up ever since I got here.”

Effie seemed to believe her explanation. “Did you get a little practice in?” she smiled.

Inwardly Katniss groaned. “Effie, I don’t think my future husband would appreciate me practicing on Peeta.”

Effie chuckled. “Don’t be so naïve. Your future husband will have plenty of practice with lots of other girls. Why not have a little fun before you settle down?”

Katniss turned pink, not in embarrassment, but in anger. Did Effie think she was like one of those wanton girls who lured boys to the slagheap? 

Effie didn’t seem to notice her agitation, however. “Today we’re going to talk about kissing. You have been kissed before, right?” 

“Of course,” Katniss quickly answered. Her family was somewhat affectionate. Her mother had kissed her goodbye when she left for the Capitol. She often kissed Prim on the check as a greeting.

As if reading her mind, Effie qualified her question. “Kissed romantically by a man?” 

Katniss didn’t answer. Of course she hadn’t been kissed by any men. She didn’t think Vick Hawthorne kissing her cheek on her birthday would count. But she wasn’t going to tell Effie that– blab it to everyone watching. 

Fortunately Effie didn’t call attention to her non-answer. Instead, she began to explain that there are all kinds of kisses. “Some are perfunctory, a chaste peck to deliver affection. Others are soft and gentle, like a feather grazing your lips. My favorite is fierce and determined.”

Effie licked her lips. Her eyes glazed over as she lost herself in thought. After a moment she appeared to remember that Katniss was there and continued speaking.

“But there is a very important etiquette rule regarding kissing. Never kiss and tell.”

Katniss snorted. That rule had been broken by most of the girls in District 12 who bragged at school about their activities at the slagheap.

“It’s not funny, Katniss,” Effie chided her. “You’ll have a dozen men wooing you. You don’t want to be kissing and telling one about the other. We don’t want any fights breaking out.”

Katniss almost started laughing over the thought that men would be fighting over her. But then worry took over. She was going to be kissed on television by strange men?

Effie began to talk technique. It was all biting, and sucking, and tongues, and tangling fingers through hair, or cupping hands on cheeks, or running a finger across the lips, or down the side of the neck, or under the jaw line. 

Katniss sat with her eyes wide and her mouth agape listening to Effie. The woman’s skin took on a rosy glow as she described the delight of a sensational kiss. Katniss imagined that the viewers must be captivated. Surely there were people who needed to step away for a moment to tend a crying child, to turn off a boiling kettle, to answer a knock on the door, but couldn’t because they were so enthralled by Effie Trinket’s kissing lesson.

 “Oh, to be young again,” Effie sighed deeply when she had finished speaking.

“Is that all?” Katniss asked, pink-cheeked and desperate to escape. 

“Yes, that is it for today. Remember, practice makes perfect,” Effie called as Katniss ran from the room. 

Katniss hid in her bedroom waiting for Cinna to arrive. As she sat down on her bed, Katniss felt the crinkle in her pocket from the recipe Peeta had given her. She pulled it out of her pocket and slowly unfolded the paper. Immediately she could see that it wasn’t a recipe. It was a letter from Peeta with a funny little caricature of Effie at the top of the page and a sketch of the rooftop gardens at the bottom. Between the drawings was a note. 

Suddenly Katniss wondered if the camera could see what Peeta had written. She grabbed a pillow, using it to cover the note. She lay down on her bed and using the pillow as a shield she studied the paper. She smiled at Peeta’s exaggerated depiction of Effie with her beehive hair, dramatic makeup, and outlandish clothing. Katniss had no idea that Peeta was such a good artist, but then art was not a subject in school in District 12.

The garden he’d drawn at the bottom of the page looked exactly like the one on the roof. He’d even drawn the bench with the two of them sitting on it. It showed Peeta leaning into her side, his mouth close to her ear. Immediately she remembered the moment and a shiver ran down her back.

She turned to the words he’d written.

 

_Dear Katniss,_

_I’ve been thinking about the cameras. Even if we destroy them, they’ll only be replaced. Maybe if we could locate the ones in your bedroom, you could cover them up in some way for privacy while you’re dressing or bathing._

_Peeta_

 

Katniss had to admit that Peeta’s idea wasn’t half bad. While it wouldn’t solve the problem of her life being broadcast to the Capitol population, at least it would give her a measure of modesty.

Katniss folded the letter and shoved it into her pocket. She put her pillow back against the headboard of the bed. Cinna was knocking on her door.

The stylist was alone today, but he had a rack filled with clothing. Her eyes widened when he asked her to try on the outfits for him, but she calmed down when he told her to change in the bathroom. “I respect your privacy,” he said, and she took that to mean that there were no cameras in the bathroom.

Relieved, she wheeled the rack in with her, closed the door, and immediately set to work modeling the clothing for Cinna. Once he approved of the fit of each garment, he carefully hung it in the large closet in the bedroom.

They didn’t speak much as they worked together. It was clear to Katniss that Cinna was also upset about the televising of everything in the penthouse. Just like Peeta this morning, he had decided to bore the audience.  Before he left, Cinna tilted his chin in the direction of the camera that was set in the wall over her bed, and caught Katniss’ eye.

“Thanks,” she mouthed with her back to the camera.

“Everyone is so quiet today,” Effie commented at dinner.

Katniss and Peeta exchanged glances. Katniss guessed Effie had been monitoring their conversations on the television in her room. 

After they finished eating Effie excused herself. “I have a meeting tonight,” she said. “I’ll be back later.”

When Effie had left the penthouse and the dishes were placed in the cleaning machine, Peeta turned to Katniss.

“We should make a recipe book.”

“What?”

“A book of all the recipes I’ve showed you,” he said. “You could take it with you. I found some colored pencils and paper in my room. I’ll get them.” 

Peeta soon returned and they sat at the dining table as Peeta dictated the baking recipes and Katniss carefully copied them down. 

“I’d like the recipe for the lamb stew and that noodle dish you made for lunch, too,” Katniss added. 

She wrote each recipe on a single sheet of paper. When she was done, Peeta drew a picture of the finished product at the bottom of the page. Katniss watched his hands as he worked making the page bloom with the simple strokes of a colored pencil. 

For the first time she noticed his eyelashes that were so long that she wondered how they keep from getting all tangled up when he blinked. Peeta was attractive. She wondered why she’d never noticed it before.

He turned his head to look at her and she nearly startled when he caught her staring at him. But he didn’t seem to notice.

“Any more recipes you’d like to have?”

Katniss shook her head. When he was finished, Peeta gathered all the papers together into a pile. “We can add to these later,” he said.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“This is awful,” Plutarch shouted at Fulvia as they watched the large television screen that hung on the wall airing the special pay-for-view program only available to residents of the Capitol. It was a live feed from the penthouse showing Katniss and Peeta making the recipe book.

He hit a switch on the t.v. and shut it off. “People are paying good money for the evening edition of the feed, hoping to watch some titillating action. They look like some old married couple.”

Plutarch was sitting at the conference table in his office, located only a few blocks from the penthouse. Fulvia, Cressida and Effie sat across from him.

“Our morning ratings are high,” Fulvia started. “The cooking show is very popular. Women are drooling over Peeta Mellark. There’s a run on flour in the Capitol. And the photo shoot yesterday scored well.”

“Where is Cinna by the way?” Cressida asked. 

“Couldn’t make it,” Plutarch said. “Probably embarrassed about his low ratings for that boring segment this afternoon. Why he told her to change in the bathroom when there are no cameras in there is beyond me.” 

“My romance advice show got some good ratings today,” Effie interrupted. 

Plutarch snorted. “That’s because you practically had an orgasm on camera.”

Effie turned red. “Well,” she huffed. “I don’t have much to work with. Katniss is probably the most unsophisticated girl I’ve ever met. And Peeta, well he’s sweet, but he’s shy.”

“Remind me why he’s even here.” Plutarch glared at Fulvia. 

“You wanted these extra pay-for-view segments to introduce Katniss to Capitol viewers before _The_ _Match Game_ started,” Fulvia said. “She refused all cosmetic and surgical enhancements so we couldn’t do any beauty makeover shows. Cooking shows are popular for our morning audience and a really good tie-in for _The Match Game_ , so I brought Peeta along. He could easily fill both the morning and evening slots. He’s good looking and…. have you tasted his cookies? And his cheese buns are heavenly.”

Effie licked her lips. “Everything he makes is wonderful.”

“Isn’t it?” Fulvia exclaimed. “He was such a dear he even offered to do all the cooking; he’s saving us the cost of a chef.”

“Why isn’t Peeta the District 12 contestant?” Effie asked.

Fulvia sighed. “If it was my decision, he would have been. It was obvious back in District 12 that he had a huge crush on Katniss. Unfortunately she insisted on someone else. Some friend apparently.”

“What’s with all the green clothing,” Plutarch said. “You’re dressing him like a leprechaun.”

Fulvia frowned. “Plutarch, it is a scientific fact that people are sexually attracted to members of the opposite sex who wear their favorite color clothing. Katniss’ favorite color is green and Peeta’s favorite color is orange. That is why Peeta’s clothes are green, and Katniss is wearing a lot of orange.

“I was trying to generate a subliminal spark between the two of them, well Katniss really, so maybe there would be some chemistry there for our viewers. Although I told you it would be a mistake to promote the evening segment as,” she made air quotes around her words, `too hot to handle.’

“The women from the poorer districts tend to be inhibited,” Fulvia added. “What were you expecting from an inexperienced girl? That she’d rip off her clothes and jump him every time Effie left the suite?”

“I expected more than a craft project,” Plutarch groaned. “Oh I wish we had used a girl from District 1 for the show. Now those women know how to have fun.”

Ignoring the glare of the three women on the other side of the table, Plutarch pursed his lips for a moment, lost in thought. “Fulvia,” he said, “if Peeta has such a big crush on Katniss, why would he agree to come to the Capitol and teach her bake if she’s planning to marry another man? He may be a dear,” he said, mimicking Fulvia’s tone of voice, “but I doubt he’s a saint, although I’m beginning to wonder about him. Most men in his situation would have made a move by now.

Fulvia’s skin turned a deeper shade of pink. “Well, I might have told him we hadn’t nailed down the District 12 contestant just yet. I may have hinted that he had a chance. I’m guessing he’s holding back to win her trust.”

Plutarch slammed his fist on the table. “Damn it, Fulvia. Why would you tell him that? Does this have anything to do with all the free baked goods you’ve been getting? We don’t need a lawsuit from this kid because he thought he was going to be part of the show. You need to tell him that he’s not a contestant. It might make him less shy toward her if he knows his time is running out. And that would certainly be good for our night ratings. 

Fulvia sat stony-faced as Plutarch continued his rant.

“Besides it would help if she had some experience, especially if we want a decent show when we air the wedding night special. The advertisers are paying a lot for that show. It better be worth it.”

“I’ve been telling her to practice with Peeta,” Effie said, in attempt to divert attention from Fulvia, who was looking quite upset. “I was so sure something was going to happen on the roof last night. They looked so cozy on the bench telling secrets. And then when he squeezed her hand at the door… oh, my heart leapt. I was hoping she’d invite him back to her room.”

Plutarch shook his head. “What was that all about? The audio was awful. I couldn’t hear a single word they were saying. All I could hear was those blasted chimes.” 

“The roof’s not really set up for sound,” Cressida explained. “We didn’t anticipate filming up there.”

Plutarch sighed. “Look, I don’t have time for subliminal sparks to catch fire,” He glared at Fulvia again. “I need something for the night viewers or we’re going to get calls asking for refunds. Maybe Effie, you could give them both some alcohol tomorrow night. Not too much, I don’t want them vomiting all over each other and passing out. Just enough to make things interesting.”

“I could dim the lights to make it more romantic,” Effie suggested. “Will the built-in camera’s work with less light?”

“They will,” Cressida said.

“Okay, tomorrow night Effie, you pour the wine, dim the lights, and get out of there.”

“It sounds like a plan, Plutarch.”

“And Fulvia, be sure Peeta knows he is not a contestant on _The Match Game_.” 

“All right,” she fumed, biting her lower lip.

 

 


	8. Fighting Back

The smell of french toast greeted her the next morning. Katniss smiled as she sat down to breakfast. Ever since Cinna had pointed out the camera embedded in the wall in her bedroom and had indicated that her bathroom was camera-free, Katniss had calmed down and accepted that she was being spied on.

She didn’t like it, but there were ways to get around it, to make it a kind of game even. For example the previous evening when she and Peeta were working on the recipe book, she had written him a short note on the bottom of the lamb stew recipe to pass along the information Cinna had provided about the camera in her bedroom. 

She had handed the recipe to Peeta to illustrate. He’d looked over the page, smiled at her, and then said, “You copied it down wrong.” He’d crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the unlit fireplace, and then handed her a new sheet. “Here, I’ll dictate it again.”

There were always ways to elude the Capitol, she thought, thinking about how she’d helped her family for years when hunting was illegal in District 12.

“This is so yummy Peeta,” Effie declared, as she poured more syrup over her french toast. “I’m going to take you home with me to prepare all my meals when this is over.”

Irritated at Effie’s forward comment, Katniss noticed Peeta’s face turn a bright shade of red. “I have a job at my parent’s bakery,” he mumbled.

“Oh silly, I’m only kidding,” Effie said, her hand resting on Peeta’s.

Why is Effie flirting with Peeta? Katniss narrowed her eyes at the woman. What was she up to?

After breakfast, Peeta showed Katniss how to make bread. They made two kinds, hearty whole wheat and a lighter white bread.

“Which kind is your favorite?” Katniss asked, while she was kneading the dough.

Peeta said he liked the wheat bread best. “I don’t have it too often because it usually sells out first and we get stuck eating the leftover white bread.”

Katniss was surprised to realize that even though Peeta’s family owned the bakery, they didn’t eat fresh bread, but rather subsisted on the stale leftovers. It seemed unfair. She wanted to ask him more about it but she didn’t want to embarrass him on t.v., so she kept quiet. 

Fulvia joined them for lunch. Afterwards, Fulvia helped Peeta clear the table, while Effie lectured Katniss on tricks to keep a man’s attention. “Be intriguing,” Effie said. “Don’t talk about yourself all the time.”

Katniss scowled. 

“See you’ve already got that part down,” Effie noted. “Ask questions. Find out what he likes.”

Katniss nodded. Effie’s suggestion did make sense. But Gale was her friend. She knew a lot about him already.

She knew about his hunting skills, his ability to make snares that would trap the cleverest of animals. She knew that he cared about his family and that he would sacrifice to help them in any way he could.

But she didn’t know how he felt about her. Did he think she was pretty? Would he want to marry her if he had been given a choice? Maybe she didn’t know him as well as she thought.

After a while, Fulvia came out of the kitchen carrying several boxes of baked goods. She told Katniss that tomorrow Effie would begin prepping her for her interview with Caesar Flickerman. “The district contestants will arrive in two days.”

Suddenly Katniss felt very nervous. Would she get chance to talk with Gale privately, without cameras around? Unlikely. Maybe she could write him a letter and explain everything. She wasn’t much of a writer though. 

“When will I meet them?” she asked Fulvia.

“You’ll meet them on Caesar’s show. He’ll interview you first and then interview each district’s contestant. Afterwards there will be a cocktail party at the house where the men will live during the show.” 

“Cocktail party? What’s that?”

Effie looked at her astounded. “Cocktails are alcoholic beverages.”

“Oh,” Katniss said. Being the daughter of a healer, she was familiar with the effects of alcohol on her mother’s patients. It worked as an anesthetic, numbing their pain. She knew that some people, like Haymitch Abernathy her district’s only living victor of the Hunger Games, imbibed regularly and as a result were disgusting drunks.

She wondered what the point was of gathering all the contestants together and numbing them. How was she supposed to learn more about these men if they were all in state of numbness? But then again did it even matter? She didn’t need to know these men. She already knew how the game would end.

Cinna arrived shortly. He brought a sketchpad with him and some fine-point markers. He spent a couple of hours going over fashion design with her, showing her how different design elements in clothing could change the way a person’s appearance, like how a short person could appear taller.

Katniss thought it was very interesting and admired the way Cinna drew so beautifully. “You’re a good artist,” she told him. “Peeta’s good too.”

“I know,” Cinna said, and Katniss realized that he’d probably been watching them on t.v. the previous evening when they’d been working on the recipe book.

When Cinna left, Katniss went into the kitchen looking for Peeta.

“I’m starving,” she called. “What did you make for dinner?”

He was facing the stove and when he turned around, Katniss could see that he was upset.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

Immediately a mask covered his face. “No,” he insisted, stretching his face into a tight smile.

He opened the oven to show her a pan filled with a roast and tiny potatoes.

She helped him carry the food to the dining table. Besides the roast and potatoes, Peeta had made three vegetables and chocolate pudding for dessert.

“Surprise, surprise,” Effie called out as she left the table once the food appeared, and retrieved two bottles of wine from her room. As she walked back toward the table, she punched some numbers into a keypad on the wall. Automatically the lights in the room dimmed.

She opened one of the bottles and asked Peeta to find some glasses for them in the kitchen. When he returned, Effie poured the wine.

Katniss had never had real wine before, only a weakened homemade version her mother used in cough syrups. She thought about turning it down, but then she wondered what exactly were the effects of it. Would it numb her to the nervousness she was feeling as the hours ticked closer to the start of _The Match Game_?

She took a sip of the tart, dry liquid, secretly thinking it could be improved with a few spoonfuls of honey. Peeta eyed her as she drank, but he was already a few sips ahead of her. Effie, meanwhile, had drunk her entire glass and was pouring herself a second one.

“What do you think? Effie asked her. 

“It’s all right.”

“It’s a real treat we don’t often get in District 12,” Peeta said.

“Unless you’re Haymitch Abernathy,” Katniss giggled.

Effie frowned.

Katniss giggled even more. She didn’t know why she was laughing at her own joke. Could it be an effect of the wine? She’d nearly finished her glass. Her head was feeling a bit cloudy. She set the wine glass down and took a long drink from her water glass.

Dinner was soon over and Peeta stood up to clear the table.

“No, no, let me,” Effie said. She stood up quickly then held her hands to her temple.

“Are you alright Effie?” Peeta asked. 

“Just a little head rush.” Effie regained her composure and gathered up the plates to bring into the kitchen. When she had cleared the table, she poured the remainder of the bottle into her glass, and then opened the second bottle of wine to top it off. She chugged the entire glass down.

“Now you two just finish this off for me. Don’t let it go to waste.”

Effie stumbled out of the penthouse leaving Katniss and Peeta sitting at the table with two glasses and a mostly full bottle of wine.

“Do you want some more?” Peeta asked Katniss. Her glass was almost empty. She shook her head. “No.” The cloudy feeling was gone and she didn’t want it to return.

Peeta, whose glass was empty, filled it half-way. “It beats the stuff Ripper makes.”

“Have you tasted her liquor?” Katniss asked. “My mom uses it for anesthesia for her patients.”

Peeta laughed. “I can believe it. Rye bought a bottle and let me have some. After half a glass I couldn’t feel my tongue. I had the worst headache the next day.”

“Can you imagine how Haymitch must feel every day?”

“No wonder he’s so grouchy when he comes into the bakery,” Peeta said.

Katniss stood up and walked over to a cabinet that stood in the corner of the room. She opened it, pulling out the sketchpad and one of the markers Cinna had left behind. She carried it over to the table, opened the cover, and wrote something down.

“Cinna was showing me how to draw today,” she said, handing the tablet to Peeta.

He lifted the cover to see what she’d written.

_Do you think the cameras are working now if the lights are practically off?_

He reached for the marker that Katniss still held in her hand. She gave it to him and he wrote an answer to her question.

_I don’t know._

He moved the pad around so she could read it. She nodded and the two exchanged glances. He turned the pad to himself and wrote more.

_How are you feeling about the show? Are you excited for it to begin?_ He handed the tablet and the marker to her.

She bit her lip as she wrote out her answer.

_I feel terrible, like I’m trapped in a nightmare. None of this seems real._

She handed him the marker and the pen. He read her answer and a puzzled expression crossed his face, before he wrote down a response.

_Why did you agree to do it then?_

Katniss read his question and wondered if she should tell Peeta the truth. Even though they had never been friends in District 12, they had become good friends over the past few days. Maybe it was because he was her only link to home in this strange place or maybe it was because she had gotten to know him and discovered what a kind person he was.

Regardless of the reason, she wanted him to think well of her --- to know that it was not her choice to participate in this Capitol game of exploitation. She took the marker from him and wrote her answer.

_Mayor Undersee said they would open the medicine factory in District 12 if I participated. That would bring a lot of jobs into our district. It would be another work option for people in the Seam besides the mines._

She handed the pad to Peeta. His eyes widened as he read, his mouth dropped open.

A flash of anger crossed his face. _You’re being blackmailed_ , he immediately wrote.

She nodded in agreement, as she read his answer. She glanced up at him.

“I’m sorry,” he mouthed. Katniss could see the sadness in his blue eyes.

“It’s not your fault,” she said aloud. Why was Peeta apologizing?

“But it is,” he muttered. He grabbed the pad from her and began to write furiously.

Was Peeta delusional? How could it be his fault?

He wrote for a couple of minutes before hesitantly handing the pad back to her. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He reached for his half full wine glass and took a quick swallow.

She looked down and read.

_It’s my fault because I‘ve had a crush on you ever since the first day of school when you sang the valley song in music class. It’s taken me thirteen years to work up the nerve to even talk to you. I should have said something. I should have told you how I felt._

_If I hadn’t been such a coward, maybe things would be different. Maybe you wouldn’t have been pressured to be on this show._

Astounded at Peeta’s written words, Katniss didn’t lift her head to look at him. She stared hard at the paper, as her cheeks grew warm. So Madge and Gale were right. He had been staring at her because he liked her. But he’d been too shy to do anything more than look.

She lifted her head to grab the marker from his hands, avoiding his eyes. She wrote back to him.

_It wouldn’t have made a difference. I’ve never wanted a boyfriend or anything to do with romance or marriage. Besides I’m from the Seam. I’m sure that would thrill your parents liking a girl from the Seam._

He took the pad of paper back from her and read it quickly, then reached for the marker she had set down.

_It might have made a difference. I can be fairly persuasive. As for my parents, well, I couldn’t care less._

He handed her the paper. She read his answer and burst out laughing at his confident response. She looked up for a moment grinning at his audacity and caught his eyes. They were filled with hope.

She looked away. There was no hope. Everything was already set into motion. 

_It’s too late to do anything now_ , she wrote.

He pulled the pad from her, glancing at her answer and quickly writing one of his own.

_It’s not too late. I have an idea. Will you trust me?_

She was puzzled when she read his answer, but she looked into his eyes and nodded. If Peeta knew some way to get her out of this mess, she was interested.

“I’m still hungry,” Peeta said, his voice breaking the silence. He stood up. “I’m going to get some bread from the kitchen. We can make a fire and toast it.”

Katniss’ eyebrows shot up, her eyes growing big. “What?”

But Peeta had already left the room. Katniss began writing. When Peeta came back with a few slices of bread on a plate, some metal skewers, and a small box of matches, Katniss handed him the pad.

_How is a toasting going to help me?_

Peeta picked up the marker and wrote down an answer.

_It’s not a real toasting if you haven’t filed paperwork in the Justice Building. But I bet people in the Capitol don’t even know about this District 12 marriage custom. You can get out of this whole mess if they think you’re already married. Especially when the ceremony has been on live t.v. in the Capitol._

After reading it, Katniss grabbed the marker.

_What about the medicine factory?_

Peeta smiled, and wrote an answer.

_It shouldn’t matter. You’ll have kept your side of the bargain by coming to the Capitol and picking a husband on television. Just not in the way they expected._

Katniss looked at his words and frowned, hoping he was right. All she knew was that she wanted a way to get out from under the Capitol’s control. She didn’t want to be forced to marry anyone. She didn’t want Gale to hate her for getting him involved as well.

Peeta wrote more.

_Katniss, it’s not a real toasting. I’m wouldn’t hold you to anything like that. I just want to help you._

She bit her lip and nodded at him. She trusted Peeta. And she was a little hungry. A slice of toast would be nice.

He tore the page they’d been writing on from the notepad, crumpled it and tossed it into the fireplace.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“There’s a nearly full bottle of wine sitting on that table and those kids are passing notes back and forth to each other,” Plutarch shouted. “Are they playing tic-tac- toe? I can’t believe this. I thought they were going to get drunk and be all over each other. Fulvia, get me an antacid.”

“Oh look, Peeta is lighting a fire,” Effie sighed. “I knew things would heat up in a more romantic setting. Look how cozy the two of them look together toasting their bread slices. How polite they both are to offer their first bite to the other person. I guess my example of good manners has taken hold.”

“Who eats toast without butter and jam?” Fulvia licked her lips, remembering the box of cheese buns in her refrigerator at home. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Trust me,” Peeta whispered. “On the count of three.”

“Hold it out so everyone can see,” Katniss said softly.

They both removed their slices of bread from the skewer and offered each other a taste before eating the rest.

When they were done, Katniss leaned into Peeta murmuring,“what next?”

He smiled. “You wait for the right moment to tell them.”

Giddy with the thought that Peeta might have helped her to outwit the Capitol at its own game, she leaned in and kissed his cheek.

He seemed startled at first, but then he turned quickly and his lips gently captured hers.

It’s one of those quick feathery kisses Effie told me about, Katniss thought as Peeta pulled back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A couple of blocks away Effie screamed. “Oh, oh, oh, they kissed.”

“About time,” Plutarch muttered. He looked at Fulvia. “Did you tell him he’s not a contestant?”

“Yes,” she muttered. “He wasn’t happy.”

“Well, it obviously was the kick in the pants he needed. Maybe now he’ll get down to business.” He glanced up at the screen. “Why is she standing up and leaving?” he yelled.

They watched as a pink-cheeked Katniss said goodnight to Peeta and walked off in the direction of her bedroom. The shot on the television screen then cut to Katniss’ bedroom as she entered. She grabbed a nightgown from the dresser and went into the bathroom to change.

“Nooooo,” Plutarch whined, as the scene cut back to the living room as Peeta sat staring into the flames of the dying fire.  “I’m going to have to refund everyone’s money. What is it with these backward people from Twelve? It’s a wonder the district is even populated.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss pulled back her comforter, climbed into bed, and turned off the lamp on table next to her.

She stared upward in the dark. She ran her index finger over her lips remembering the sensation of Peeta’s lips on hers. Did I just pretend to marry Peeta Mellark?


	9. Show Time

Katniss was in good spirits the next morning. The act of openly rebelling with a fake toasting that was aired live on t.v. in the Capitol made her smile.

While it didn’t change anything at present – _The Match Game_ was still scheduled to go on – it was a weapon, as powerful as her bow and arrow, which she could use in the game being played against her. She would need to pick exactly the right moment to reveal it. 

Even Effie, intent on gobbling down the muffins Peeta had made, noticed Katniss’ mood. “Did you have a good evening?” she asked pointedly.

Katniss narrowed her eyes at her chaperone, wondering if Effie had watched the toasting on t.v. and if she understood its meaning. As the District 12 escort for _The Hunger Games’_ tributes, she probably knew more about the district than the average Capitol citizen.

“It was fine,” Katniss replied.

Effie continued eating without comment. Katniss guessed Peeta was right. No one in the Capitol was aware of this District 12 marriage custom.

She glanced at Peeta, catching his eye and nodding slightly.

The morning passed quickly as Peeta showed her how to make cinnamon rolls. Afterwards, when they were done icing the batch with a special frosting made of powdered sugar and maple syrup, Katiss and Peeta split one and shared it.

“I need this recipe for the book,” Katniss said as she licked her fingers clean of the frosting.

Peeta smirked. “Are they better than cheese buns?”

Katniss shook her head. “No, but they’re a close second.”

Neither had an appetite for lunch after the sweet treat, but Peeta made a sandwich and a fruit salad for Effie.

“This looks lovely,” Effie exclaimed as she picked up the bowl and small plate to carry into the dining room. “Where is your food though?”

“We’re not hungry,” Peeta explained. “We filled up on cinnamon rolls.”

Effie nodded. “Why don’t you two enjoy yourselves up on the roof while I eat this yummy salad,” she suggested. “It’s a beautiful day.”

She glanced at Katniss, tilting her head toward Peeta. “Practice makes perfect,” she mouthed.

Katniss rolled her eyes, but she followed Peeta down the hallway to the door that led to the roof. Peeta went into his room, grabbing the statue to use as a prop to hold the door open. Together they climbed the stairs. Katniss squinted when she walked out onto the sunny roof. She inhaled deeply. Fresh air. A strong breeze. Loud chimes. 

She followed Peeta over to the railing. The city below looked the same as it had the other evening, only now she could see the people clearly as well. They looked like tiny dots of color scurrying about.

“Everything looks different in the light of day,” Peeta said.

“It does,” she agreed.

“Do you regret last night?”

Was Peeta referring to their fake toasting? Or was he referring to their brief kiss? No she didn’t regret any of it. Not if it could be used to set her free from a forced marriage.

She shook her head.

“Let’s go look at the garden.” He reached for her hand.

She glanced at him for a moment before placing her hand in his. It was all right for friends to hold hands she guessed, although she couldn’t remember ever holding hands with Gale. Besides if they were on camera it was probably better if they gave the appearance of being a couple.

They walked over the bench where Peeta had told her about the cameras the other night. It was windier now and the chimes gonged even louder. 

Peeta leaned toward her ear speaking loudly. “What did you mean about having a deal?”

“What?” What was he talking about?

“On the train, when you first saw me, you mentioned something about having a deal to Fulvia. You were upset.”

Katniss remembered. She had been worried at that moment that Fulvia had selected Peeta as the District 12 contestant instead of Gale. 

She bit her lip and looked toward the garden and watched the large trees that were planted in oversized pots sway in the wind. Should she tell Peeta about the deal? It shouldn’t matter. He’d find out soon enough. 

She turned to Peeta. “Fulvia let me choose the District 12 contestant for the show. When I saw you on the train…”

 “You picked Gale.”

She nodded, biting her lip. 

“Then why are you so unhappy about the show? You probably would have ended up together anyway.” He stood up.

She reached for his hand trying to pull him back down onto the bench. But he was planted solidly and she stood up to face him. “No, Peeta. Gale and I are not like that.”

He looked at her skeptically, and she felt the anger bubble up inside. 

“I had to pick someone,” she shrieked, wondering if her voice was louder than the chimes. “I didn’t want to be forced to marry a stranger and move out of District 12.”

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She blinked quickly to brush them away. Did he understand that picking Gale was her only measure of control in the situation into which she’d been trapped?

A look of surprise crossed Peeta’s face at her emotional reaction. But neither had time to continue the conversation because Effie suddenly appeared to take her downstairs to begin prep for the next day’s interview with Caesar Flickerman. 

“Tomorrow is a big, big, big day,” Effie chirped. “All the contestants will be arriving in the morning. They’ll be specially groomed first before they’re whisked off to the studio for Caesar’s show.”

Gale was arriving tomorrow, which meant he was already on the train traveling to the Capitol. Katniss’ euphoria over outwitting the Capitol was quickly dying. The hard reality that she was the star of a national television show that was about to begin caused a sick leaden feeling to settle in her stomach.

She spent the next couple of hours formulating answers to the scripted questions Caesar would ask and learning how to sit like a lady, keeping her legs together and her ankles crossed. Effie had her put on a pair of high heels to practice walking and Katniss wobbled her way around the living room, nearly tripping at one point. Lastly, Effie had her practice smiling; so much that Katniss’ cheeks were aching when Cinna arrived.

Cinna had a garment bag. He immediately took her in the bedroom and handed her the bag. “Change into this,” he told her, pointing to the bathroom.

She went in and put on the gown he’d designed for the interview. It was a floor-length green dress that had been designed to flatter her slender figure. It had a beaded bodice that shimmered as she moved. The skirt was made from several layers of flowing chiffon. Katniss came out of the bathroom and twirled in the dress before Cinna.

“I love it,” she told the stylist.

He smiled. “Stand still, I want to check the fit.” He looked it over carefully. “You’ve gained a few pounds since Venia took your measurements back in Twelve.”

Katniss smiled. “It’s all the food I’ve been eating here in the Capitol.”

Cinna chuckled. “Effie mentioned that Peeta is a good cook.”

“He is,” she agreed, her mind wandering back to their conversation on the roof. She needed to talk with him and be sure he understood what she’d been trying to say. Peeta was her friend, too, after all.

After she changed out of her interview dress, Cinna handed her a pale blue dress. 

“Wear this for dinner tonight,” he told her.

“Why do I need to get dressed for dinner?”

“You’ll be meeting with the show’s advertisers,” he explained.

Maybe this dinner would be the right moment to break the news about the toasting. She and Peeta could tell everyone before the show got underway, and then they could leave the Capitol and return home. Since they wouldn’t be filing papers in the Justice Building to make the toasting legal, they could return to their old lives. The only difference: she and Peeta would be friends now. Good friends.

After Cinna left, Katniss went looking for Peeta to figure out a plan.

Effie was sitting on the couch flipping through the magazine the photographer had left behind from the photo shoot a few days earlier. Katniss hurried past her and entered the kitchen. But Peeta wasn’t there. She returned to the living room.

“Where’s Peeta,” she asked Effie.

Effie peered at her over the top of the magazine and slowly lowered it.

“Fulvia thought it was best that he move out this afternoon since your baking lessons are over. Besides with the show starting tomorrow, it would be inappropriate for him to be here. What would your suitors think?”

Katniss realized then how much she’d leaned on Peeta to get her through the past several days in the Capitol. She had counted on him being at this dinner. He could explain the District 12 marriage custom so much better than she. What was she going to do now?

“When do we eat?” she asked Effie.

“We’ll leave at 9 p.m.,” Effie said. “Nightlife in the Capitol doesn’t begin until after dark.”

By the time she and Effie left the penthouse to travel by car to the restaurant, Katniss was starving, even though she had gone into the kitchen and eaten a cold cheese bun she had found wrapped in foil in the refrigerator.

When they arrived, Katniss was overwhelmed with introductions. She ended up sitting between Fulvia and Plutarch.

Servers brought out drinks for everyone. It didn’t take long for the guests to get tipsy, if not outright drunk.

Katniss quickly decided that this dinner would was not the time to tell them about the toasting.

From the conversations she heard around her, she knew that the people at the table had been watching the live feed of her activities over the past few days. She heard Peeta’s name mentioned several times by an elderly woman half-way down the table. The woman mentioned something about his buns and the man next to her snickered. 

Another person asked Plutarch about compiling the recipe book and suggested that it be published and distributed to women across the country. 

“Wherever, did you find such an lovely virgin to sacrifice,” a man called out to the network programmer. Plutarch choked on his drink for a moment, then chuckled. Katniss, meanwhile, turned beet red. 

She didn’t drink anything, even though the food was heavily salted, because after two sips of the drink the server had given her, her tongue began to tingle. She remembered Peeta’s comments about Ripper’s liquor.

Even so, at the end of the evening she had a nasty headache and had a difficult time keeping her eyes open. Several of the advertisers hugged her good-by breathing their boozy breath into her face. One man grabbed her backside and squeezed.

She screamed and Effie put a halt to all the hugging.

“Keep your hands to yourself,” Effie warned the man in her chirpy voice before pulling Katniss along to the car.

Once they were inside the penthouse, Katniss got ready for bed. Just before she drifted off she wondered where Peeta was tonight. Was he on his way back to District 12?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss was standing on the sidelines of the stage that had previously been used to conduct tribute interviews for _The Hunger Games_. The district contestants were hidden behind a curtain on the other side of the stage.

Caesar’s theme song played and Effie pushed Katniss out onto the stage. “Remember, eye contact,” she hissed before Katniss slowly made her way to the upholstered chair next to Caesar. Beyond the stage she could see an audience of a few hundred people watching her intently.

Caesar had stood to greet her as she came forward, and clasped her two hands in his, before letting go. He indicated that she sit.

“What do you think of the Capitol?” Caesar asked her.

Immediately her mind went back to her conversation on the roof with Peeta when he’d asked her the same thing, before going on to tell her that they were being filmed in the penthouse.

She gave Caesar the same answer she’d given Peeta. “It’s very different from District 12.” She forced her face into a tight smile.

Besides eye contact, Effie had told her to smile, a lot.

“I’ll bet it is,” Caesar replied.

The audience laughed loudly and Katniss scowled for a moment.

At the side of the stage was a large television screen and Katniss saw that a movie was starting to play. It was a story about her life in District 12. It opened with the footage Castor had taken months ago in the Seam of her mother cooking breakfast for her and Prim. 

The recent footage of her saying good-bye to her family was also included. It was followed by a short-segment of her makeover by Cinna’s prep team and a snippet of Effie giving her flirting instructions.

The movie ended with Katniss’ interview with Cressida where she talked about her parent’s love for each other and her hope that she could experience the same.

“What a delightful girl you are,” Caesar gushed when the film ended. “Now you’ll have exactly that opportunity to love. And we’ll get to watch it unfold.

“Katniss Everdeen, behind that curtain is your future husband. Are you ready to meet him?”

She gulped. Her stomach dropped. Her heart was thumping loudly. Should she stop the show now and tell Caesar about the toasting?

But there was no way to get a word in as Caesar continued.

“To make this interesting, I’m going to have you sit off to the side, Katniss so you can watch and listen, but the contestant will not be able to see you.”

Katniss stood up as a stagehand walked her to the far right corner of the stage, indicating that she sit on the other side of a large pillar. There was  t.v. monitor stationed there that she could watch the interview on.

When she was seated, Caesar introduced the first representative from District 1. A tall, thin man came out, shook Caesar’s hand and sat down. His name was Marvel. He acted cocky and arrogant in the answers that he gave to Caesar regarding his hopes to win Katniss’ hand in marriage. District 1 was known for its luxury products, and Katniss thought he has the air of a spoiled brat who gets everything he wants.

A buzzer sounded in a couple of minutes and Marvel exited the stage.

The second contestant, Cato, a tall, muscular blonde from District 2 sat down. Immediately Katniss suspected he had spent his youth training to be a volunteer in _The Hunger Games_ because of his size and his overconfident demeanor.

Caesar asked him some basic questions. His answers all spoke to his competitive nature.

“What do you think your chances are to win the heart of Miss Everdeen?” Caesar asked.

“One hundred percent,” he stated flatly. “I always get what I want. I’m a winner.”

A shiver ran down Katniss’ spine.

A buzzer rang and Cato’s time was up.

Next was the District 3 contestant. A dark-haired man with a kind face wearing glasses sat down. His name was Gates. He appeared uncomfortable. He tapped his foot nervously while Caesar spoke. Gates’ answers were vague, but he got quite excited when Caesar asked him about his work. The buzzer interrupted as he went into detail about some new electronic technology he had invented.

The audience went wild when the District 4 contestant, former Hunger Games victor Finnick Odair, walked out onto the stage. He and Caesar were old friends and their conversation reflected it. They talked about all kinds of things unrelated to the show, like the latest Capitol gossip and Finnick’s new beach house.

“What do you think of our lovely Miss Everdeen?” Caesar questioned.

“When I see something sweet, I grab it quick,” he purred.

The audience roared as the buzzer rang.

The representatives were beginning to blur in Katniss’ mind. All she could remember was that Five had brown hair and Six had dirty blonde hair. Seven was wearing a plaid shirt and had muscular arms. He told Caesar he was a lumberjack – his favorite thing was to chop down trees.

Katniss’ mouth dropped open. One of her favorite things was to climb trees. They definitely did not have much in common.

As the buzzer rang and each man left the chair and a new one came onto the stage, Katniss grew more nervous anticipating Gale’s entrance. She was nearly shaking when Eleven came onto the stage. He had dark skin and was built like an ox. He stood nearly six and a half feet tall. His answers to Caesar’s questions were a simple yes or no.

His name was Thresh and his district specialized in farming. Was he looking for a wife to work on his farm?

The buzzer rang. Thresh stood up and left. Gale came out.

Katniss inhaled quickly. Gale’s hair was shorter and styled in a kind of pompadour with a swoop in the front and the sides combed up and back. Anger showed in his grey eyes as he sat down across from Caesar. His hands were formed into fists, which he rested in his lap. 

“The lovely Miss Everdeen is a resident of your district,” Caesar stated. “Do you know her?” 

Katniss heart leapt. Had Fulvia warned Gale not to mention their friendship? Would he be thrown off of the show if everyone knew they were friends?

“I’ve seen her around,” he smirked.

Caesar smiled. “What can you tell us about her that we don’t already know?”

Katniss could hear her heart pounding in her chest.

“Katniss is an excellent hunter. I have no doubt she’s already got someone in her sights already.”

The audience groaned, while Caesar grinned. “This is very intriguing. And what type of man would our huntress favor?”

“Well, I don’t know which man she’ll pick, but I know whoever he is will be someone she can’t survive without.”

The buzzer sounded and Gale left the stage.

Caesar called for Katniss to return to him. “So Katniss, have you seen anyone you can’t survive without?”

Katniss shook her head and smiled faintly. She could survive just fine without any of the men who had been paraded in front of her, including Gale.

“Not telling?” Caesar grinned. “Well, that’s alright. You’ve only just seen these men. In the next few weeks you’ll get to meet them up close and personal.”

Caesar’s theme music began to play and the show ended. Effie came onto the stage to get Katniss. The cocktail party was being held this evening. Maybe that would be the perfect moment time to put a stop to everything and mention the toasting.

 


	10. Cocktails And Bicycles

Effie and Katniss left the television studio and traveled by car to the penthouse. Cinna was waiting to dress Katniss for the cocktail party. She took off her green dress and he put her in long red dress that had a slit on the side that ran up a little past her knee.

“What do you think?” Cinna asked her.

“It’s beautiful.” She didn’t have time to elaborate because Effie was pulling her by the hand and out the door, down the elevator to a waiting car in the parking garage below the street.

“Tonight is your chance to mingle with everyone,” Effie said, while they rode to the party. “Be sure to have at least a few words with every contestant there. There are agents behind most of them and they’ll be very upset if their contestant is ignored. The party won’t be televised until tomorrow evening so if anything goes wrong it can be edited out.”

The car pulled up to a large house made of grey stone and set back on a grassy lawn. There was a circular drive in front and the driver pulled up to the door to let Effie and Katniss out. 

Effie knocked, and when the door was opened she pushed Katniss in first. Katniss walked into the house, squinting because of the bright lights needed for the cameras. 

She entered through a grand foyer and was pushed by Effie into a large living room filled with couches and chairs arranged into several seating areas. Most of the men were holding bottled beverages with the manufacturer’s label facing forward. As she walked in, a shout of “Katniss” was called out and the men tipped their bottles toward her.

Embarrassed, Katniss wanted to turn and leave, but Effie pushed her further into the room. Immediately, she looked around for Gale. Even though she knew he was upset, he was a familiar face in a sea of unknown faces. If she could get him alone and tell him about what she and Peeta had done to outwit the Capitol, maybe he’d be less upset with her. Maybe. Or would he be even more upset?

She couldn’t locate him at the moment. She sat down on one of the couches and the contestant from Two joined her. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “I’m Cato your future husband,” he introduced himself.

A sour taste rose in her throat. She scowled.

“I know how to wipe that frown off your face.”

He leaned in closer as if to kiss her, and immediately she whipped her head back.

Laughter sounded and Katniss saw that every man in the room was watching. 

She looked around again for Gale. She finally located him. He was standing in the corner of the room with Finnick Odair and Gates from Three. 

“You’re bothering the lady,” said Marvel, the contestant from One. He had sat down on the other side of Katniss.

Katniss turned toward him.

“Hi, I’m Marvel, nice to finally meet you.”

Kantiss nodded.

“I imagine this must be fairly nerve-wracking for you.” 

“It is,” she said quietly.

“Here, why don’t you drink this,” Marvel said, holding out his bottle to her. “It will calm you down some.”

Katniss shook her head. She didn’t know what was in that bottle and she wanted to keep her wits about her.

“Oh come on,” he insisted, pushing it toward her face.

She pushed his arm back, knocking the bottle to the floor and spilling some of the drink onto his clothing.

“Now look what you made me do,” Marvel spat out.

Katniss stood up quickly and moved away. At one end of the room was a large table filled with all kinds of finger foods. Katniss picked up a plate and began to fill it. At the end of the table she noticed a platter of cheese buns that looked very similar to the ones she and Peeta had made.

She missed him. But she didn’t have time to fret because immediately two other men appeared by her side.

They were from Five and Six and introduced themselves as Axel and Tesla. They were also filling their plates.

“Katniss, did you hear about the cannibal who invited his friend to dinner?” Tesla asked.

“No,” Katniss answered.

Tesla continued. “His friend said, `I don’t like your wife.’ The cannibal told him `set her aside and just eat the vegetables’.”

Katniss looked at Tesla curiously, but Axel laughed heartily.

“You people from Six have the best cannibal jokes,” Axel said.

“After Titus, we’ve had to learn to laugh at ourselves,” Tesla admitted.

Katniss shook her head at the reference to Titus, the only _Hunger Games_ tribute that had resorted to cannibalism. What an odd sense of humor both men had.

She left the buffet and carried her plate to a nearby chair and sat down, picking at her food.

Gale snuck up quietly from behind and squatted in front of her. “So Katniss, how are you doing?”

Gale hadn’t used her real name in years and it sounded strange to hear him say it. But he couldn’t call her Catnip here; he had to pretend that they barely knew each other.

“Fine,” she mumbled. She looked up to see that Finnick Odair was standing next to Gale.

“Funny you never mentioned my involvement in your show,” Gale muttered.

“It’s not my show,” she hissed.

Finnick smiled. “Once the Capitol has its claws in you, they’ll never let you go.” His voice was low. He bent forward and leaned in close, whispering into her ear. “What was your threat?”

Gale’s eyes took on a steely glint, but Katniss leaned into Finnick and whispered. “A medicine factory that would bring jobs to Twelve.”

Finnick pulled his head back. “Your district is in fairly dire shape?”

She nodded.

“I’m not surprised then. But your friend here could rescue you,” he said. Finnick tilted his head toward Gale.

“You know Katniss..” Gale began, a scowl crossing his face.

She looked around. Were people listening to them? “We can’t talk here,” she told Gale, worried about what he might say. This was not the place for an argument, especially if it was going to be a denouncement of the Capitol. “We’re being taped for the show.”

Gale frowned.

Finnick grabbed Katniss by the hand and pulled her off the couch.

“Come with me while I get some food,” he said, pulling her back to the buffet table.

She followed Finnick.

“These look interesting,” he said holding up a cheese bun. “I watched a cooking show just the other day showing how these are made.”

Katniss eyed him carefully. He was obviously referring to her baking lesson with Peeta that had been aired live on t.v. Had he been in the Capitol to see it?

“They’re tasty, but not as dramatic as a simple slice of toasted bread.”

Katniss’ eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. He knew. How?

“Be careful,” he whispered, leaning his face in so close that he was almost touching her cheek. “The Capitol takes its television very seriously. The one thing they can’t stand is being laughed at and if they find out they were tricked, well, there could be serious consequences for both of you.”

“But it’s not real,” she said, referring not only to the toasting but to _The Match Game_ , as well.

Finnick laughed. “You’ll learn soon enough that nothing the Capitol does is real.”

“Are you real?” she asked.

“I’m not what you think I am.” 

He walked away leaving her alone. 

The remainder of the evening was bewildering to Katniss. She talked briefly with Gates from Three who had invented some kind of electronic device. He was pleasant and non-threatening, but his description of his work was confusing. She found her cheeks aching as she oohed and awed over his latest invention.

Thresh was intimidating. Katniss found herself trying to make small talk with him, but his answers were monosyllabic.

The others, from Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten spoke with her, but at that point everyone seemed so blurred together, that she could barely distinguish between them. She did remember telling Seven that she liked to climb trees, and he laughed at her in a patronizing manner, which made her angry.

After a while Effie appeared, grabbed her forearm, and headed for the door. “Goodnight,” Effie called out to the men in the room. “You’ll see more of this lovely lady tomorrow.”

Katniss followed Effie out of the house and into the car. She was silent on the ride back as she thought over her evening. Finnick’s warning had left her worried. For now, at least until she thought of a way to reveal the toasting that wouldn’t cause repercussions, she’d have to go along playing _The Match Game_.

“Katniss,” Effie chirped. “You look like you’re dreaming about your wedding. Tell me what you’re thinking?”

Katniss suspected the car was bugged. She wouldn’t be surprised it their entire conversation was being aired live throughout Panem right now.

 “I don’t know if I can make up my mind with so many men to choose from.” Katniss’ tone was sarcastic but it seemed to go right over Effie’s head.

“I liked the one from Seven,” Effie giggled. “You both have a love of nature in common. Plus, he’s very handsome.”

“Effie, he destroys nature,” Katniss huffed “He chops down forests.”

“Of course Finnick would be a good pick as well. I noticed you two were very cozy. He is such a gentleman. But then Finnick has had a lot of access to the Capitol. He has very good manners.”

Kaniss scowled.

“Well, tomorrow you’ll be meeting the men in two different group dates. That should help you feel less overwhelmed.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, Cinna appeared before breakfast to dress her for her first group date at a site outside the center of the Capitol called Velodrome. He told her it was a place where people rode bicycles on a banked oval track.

“What’s a bicycle?”

Cinna laughed. “I’m guessing you don’t have them in Twelve. A bicycle is a vehicle that is propelled forward by using your feet and steered with your hands. It can be a little tricky to learn to ride, but once you get the hang of it, you never forget. Bicycle riding at Velodrome is quite popular here in the Capitol.”

He dressed Katniss in a button-down sleeveless shirt that tied at her waist. Her pants fell just below her knees, and she wore laced up flat shoes. Cinna braided her hair, wrapping it up across the back of her head. He spent a long time on her makeup, but when he was done, Katniss marveled that it looked so natural.

“Perfect,” Cinna said. “Now have a good time.”

Effie rode with her to Velodrome. “You’ll be here with the men from Districts One, Three, Five, Seven, Nine, and Eleven,” she said. “Remember what I taught you. Eye contact is the key, Katniss.”

When the car arrived, Katniss saw that the men were already there, all of them dressed in some outfit made of stretchy fabric that emphasized their muscles. A few of them were stretching and posing in front of one of the camera operators standing nearby.

Cressida rushed over to Katniss. “You’ll all get a brief lesson on how to ride before we do any filming,” she explained. “It shouldn’t be too difficult.”

The bicycles were set out on the edge of the track, shiny with thin tires.

Katniss wondered how anyone could possibly balance themselves on the thin wheels without falling over. She glanced at Thresh from Eleven worriedly.

A tall athletic woman named Atala stood nearby to give instructions. 

Immediately Marvel from One hopped on a bike and pedaled one loop around the track before stopping in front of everyone.

“It’s easy,” he bragged.

“We build these in Five,” Axel said, hopping on the seat. He shot down the track and leaned his weight back onto the bike. The front tire lifted off the ground and he circled the track on the rear tire only.

“So easy,” he smirked at Marvel when he returned to the group.

Gates from Three squatted down, studying the wheels. He rested his hand on the thin tire; seemingly fascinated by the mechanism that made the wheels go round.

The lumberjack from Seven looked distastefully at the bicycle. He sat down pedaled two revolutions of the wheel and the bike fell over onto its left side.

The contender from Nine, a tall thin man, sat down on the bike and slowly propelled himself around the track keeping his feet on the ground and walking forward. Half-way round, he put one foot on the pedal and eventually the second. By the time he got back to the start, he was riding easily.

“Wonderful,” Atala told him. “That’s exactly the way to do it.”

She looked at Thresh. “Are you going to give it a try?”

“Sure.”

Thresh sat down on the tiny seat, his body dwarfing the bicycle. He put his feet on the pedals and easily rode around the oval track.

Katniss marveled. Where had Thresh learned to ride? Did they have bicycles in Eleven? She thought that was an agricultural district.

“You’ve ridden before?” Atala called to him.

He nodded. “There are a few in our district. We use them to send messages between farms. I’ve even repaired them.”

Immediately Gates stood up, walked over to Thresh, and began asking him about the gearbox.

“Now Katniss, you give it a try,” Atala asked.

Katniss sat down on the bike and walked around the loop using the technique the man from Nine had shown. Halfway round she put one foot on the pedal and by the time she got back to where she had started, she was riding, albeit a bit crookedly.

Cressida cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted. “Everyone ride some loops, we’ll be doing some candid shots of you.”

The next hour was spent riding in circles. Katniss didn’t talk to any of the men and none of them made any attempt to speak with her.

She noticed, however a rivalry had developed between Marvel and Axel. Each was trying to come up with some kind of stunt that would impress the other. Axel was clearly the more talented rider, but Marvel was either very daring or very stupid, or a bit of both. One of his tricks caused him to fall over the handlebars onto his head. Everyone who was standing nearby ran toward him, including the two camera operators who immediately begin filming his injuries.

Katniss had braked her bike to watch the activity when Cressida called for her. “Get over here now.”

Katniss dropped the bike onto the track and jogged over to where a crowd had gathered around Marvel.

“Act concerned for the camera,” Cressida instructed her before pushing her past the crowd.

Katniss looked down at the man who had reaped the consequences of his stupidity.

“Are you alright?” she asked, wishing her mother or Prim were here. They’d know how to deal with the injured man.

Marvel lifted his head, looked at her and smiled. His two front teeth had been knocked out and blood was dripping from his mouth.

Katniss felt the bile rise in her throat. She was glad when Cressida shouted “cut.”

Marvel was put into a car and taken away for repairs.

Meanwhile, Cressida led Katniss over to Axel. “Tell him that you’re very disappointed that his behavior caused the accident.”

“What?” A puzzled expression crossed Katniss’ face. “Marvel caused the accident. He did it to himself.”

Cressida nodded. “It doesn’t matter Katniss. This is for the camera.”

Katniss grimaced. She looked at Axel, remembering Effie’s call for eye contact.

“Action,” Cressida called.

“You should have been more careful,” Katniss said stiffly. “Look what happened. Now Marvel is hurt.”

Axel’s face dropped. He looked like a pouting child. “Sorry,” he said.

Katniss burst out laughing.

“Cut,” Cressida called. “It’s not funny, Katniss. Now Axel make your face and Katniss act stern.”

Axel repeated his hang-dog expression again and Katniss bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing a second time. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head sadly at Axel.

“Perfect,” Cressida called. “Cut.”

Once the camera had stopped rolling, Katniss turned to Axel. “You’re really good at bike riding.”

Axel smirked. “My dad is the biggest bike manufacturer in Panem. We paid a lot to get onto this show.”

He turned and walked away, leaving Katniss shocked. What did he mean? She thought the show was about finding her a husband, not advertising a product.

The event ended shortly thereafter and Katniss was back in the car with Effie to return to the penthouse.

“That was wonderful,” Effie said. “The bike accident added just the right touch of drama. You can’t script those types of things. It was just so perfect.”

Katniss didn’t say anything. She was thinking about what Axel had said. The “date” had been one long commercial for Axel’s family’s business. It had nothing to do with finding her a husband because other than her few on-camera comments, she’d had little to no interaction with the men. She wasn’t complaining because she wasn’t interested in any of them, but it wasn’t what she’d expected at all.

 


	11. Dating Capitol Style

When Katniss returned to the penthouse, she and Effie shared a quick lunch before Cinna arrived to prepare her for her second group date with the men of Districts Two, Four, Six, Eight, and Twelve.

He dressed her in a checkered shirt tucked into jeans. Brown boots completed the look. “Where am I going this afternoon?” she asked him.

“To a barn,” he said.

Katniss’ eyes widened. “What?”

“You’re going to learn to lasso cattle.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“How exciting,” Effie chirped as they drove to a nearby animal park. Effie explained that the park gave Capitol citizens a chance to view all kinds of creatures in their natural habitats.

“We call it the woods in District 12.”

Effie smiled faintly at Katniss’ joke. “Don’t forget to flirt with your suitors,” she reminded as Katniss got out of the car.

Again, she was the last to arrive. An instructor who worked at the park was already speaking with Cato, Finnick, Tesla, J. Crew from Eight, Dalton from Ten, and Gale. The men were dressed for the part in denim jeans and plaid shirts.

Katniss walked closer to watch, leaning on the wooden wall of the cow’s pen.

Dalton offered to go first. “My Dad owns a cattle ranch. I’ve been doing this since I was a child.” He had looped the rope in his right hand. He swung it a few times before tossing it over the cow’s neck and pulled it tight.

“Let me try,” Finnick said. “I’m good with ropes.”

The instructor went into the pen and removed the lasso from the cow’s neck and handed it to Finnick. The victor quickly formed a loop, and then swung the rope. He missed a few times before encircling the cow’s neck.

“It’s trickier than it looks,” Finnick admitted.

Katniss noticed Gale watching carefully. She could tell that he was enjoying the demonstration and was itching to give it a try.

When he got his turn, Gale was fairly successful.

Katniss wondered if he planned to use the technique in the woods when he got home.

She moved herself to Gale’s side, leaning against the wooden pen as J. Crew attempted to lasso the cow. She bumped Gale’s arm with her elbow. “What did you want to talk about last night?”

He turned to her awkwardly. “Aren’t you worried about being overheard?”

“They’re not filming me right now.”

“Katniss, the camera is always on you. You’re the star of the show.” He nodded his head toward one of the operators, who was pointing the lens directly at Katniss. 

“I don’t think he can pick up the sound. It’s kind of noisy in here.”

As if to emphasize her point, loud catcalls echoed through the building as Cato finally managed to lasso the cow after multiple tries.

“I never guessed I’d be on television,” Gale stated.

“I was allowed to pick the contestant from District 12,” Katniss said. She partially covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke, so that anyone watching couldn’t read her lips “You’re my best friend.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what Mellark’s doing in the Capitol? Rumor had it in Twelve that he left on the same train you did.”

Katniss cheeks reddened. “They brought him here to teach me how to bake.”

Was Gale jealous of Peeta? Gale had been right about Peeta all along. He had been staring at her because he liked her.

“We’re just friends,” she added.

“Your friend?” Gale snorted. “You never even talked to him at home. What happened before I got here?”

She bit her lip and didn’t answer. Now was obviously not a good time to tell him about the toasting.

“What’s going on Catnip? You got a thing for Mellark now?” His voice had a teasing quality to it.

No, she thought. Not like that. But she had to admit that she did miss him. A lot.

Irritated at Gale’s comments, she turned away from him to notice Cato eyeing her carefully. Once he saw her looking in his direction, he kissed the palm of his hand, and then blew the kiss in her direction.

Kantiss gulped, but she didn’t have time to think about it because it was her turn to lasso the cow. The camera operator came in closer and the other men stepped away.

Dalton took over for the instructor, showing her how to hold the rope. He stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, his hands showing her exactly how to tie the loop and swing the rope.

“I can do myself,” she said, stepping forward from his grasp. She took a few swings before tossing it. It encircled the cow’s neck on the first try. She tightened the noose.

“That’s what I like, a girl who knows what she wants and exactly how to get it,” Dalton said.

Katniss smiled faintly and looked Dalton in the eyes exactly like Effie taught her.

“Cut,” Cressida called. “All right everyone we’re done here.”

On the ride back to the penthouse with Effie, Katniss realized that she still didn’t know what Gale wanted to talk to her about.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After supper, Plutarch, Fulvia, and Cressida joined Effie and Katniss to watch the official start of _The Match Game_. While she had been on her group date, a large screen television had been mounted in the penthouse on the wall above the fireplace. The interview with Caesar had been shown live the previous evening, but the rest of the show would be aired in a delayed fashion to allow it to be edited as circumstances warranted.

This evening’s show opened with a brief rehash of Katniss’ interview with Caesar. Following were two minute-long biographical clips about each of the contestants. As she watched the individual clips, she noticed that nearly all of the representatives were the children or grandchildren of a major business owner in their district.

She already knew about Axel and Dalton. But viewing the show she learned that Marvel from One was the grandson of the maker of Luxo watches and other fine timepieces.

Cato’s father, along with his four brothers, owned a stone quarry in District 2 that provided materials for many buildings in Panem.

Gates, who was trying to get funding to mass-produce his latest invention, came from a family of rich inventors in District 3.

Besides being a Hunger Games victor, Finnick Odair was a paid spokesperson for the District 4 Tourist Board.

Tesla’s father in District 6 was the largest shareholder in Panem’s power grid. 

The lumberjack from Seven was the grandson of the largest paper manufacturer in Panem.

J. Crew’s family business in District 8 made the highest quality clothing for men, women, and children. It was the oldest clothing manufacturer in all of Panem, having been in business even before the Dark Days.

The tall thin man from Nine, whose name turned out to be Wheaton, was part-owner in a large grain mill.

Thresh’s family owned two large farms in District 11.

Katniss wondered how the show’s editors would spin the story of Gale Hawthorne. His family was poor. He worked in the mines. He didn’t fit the pattern of the other contestants.

In fact, Katniss couldn’t think of anyone who fit the pattern in District 12. It was a poor district No one was truly rich, not even the Merchants. And the government owned the mines.  

So, she nearly fell off her seat when the announcer talked about Gale’s job as a dedicated public servant in the Justice Building. That was an obvious lie. 

After a short commercial break, _The Match Game_ , resumed. Katniss watched herself get out of the car and enter the large house where the cocktail party was held. The narrator said that all the men were living together in the house.

She saw herself make awkward conversation with the men around the room. She didn’t like watching herself on television. She wondered what her mother and Prim were thinking. Were they happy Katniss had the opportunity to meet so many rich bachelors?

Her thoughts fell to Peeta. What did he think of everything? She missed him. Not only for his cooking, which was by far more varied and delicious than the Avox who’d replaced him, but also for the friendship he’d provided ever since she’d left District 12.

She wished she could tell him about her suspicions that the show was a lot less honest that she’d been led to believe – that it was all one long commercial with Katniss Everdeen as the final prize. But if he watched it, he would probably figure that out for himself.

The segment on the cocktail party was followed by brief interviews with the twelve contestants. Each was sitting on a stool, staring directly into the camera and speaking as if they were talking to Katniss directly.

“If I could melt all the gold on the earth, I would make a key with it to unlock your heart,” Marvel said. “We are soul mates Katniss. Choose me.”

Cato called her a prize that he was willing to earn by his muscles, talent, and brains.

Gates said he thought she had the mind of a fine inventor and that they’d be terrific partners. 

“You’re a girl on fire,” Finnick said. “Whoever you choose, you’ll make history.” 

Katniss was pondering Finnick’s odd comment so she missed the sappy, silly and saccharine comments of most of the others.

Finally Gale. “I’ve always admired you Katniss. You’re a hard worker and you’ll do anything to help others. Any man would be lucky to have you for his wife.”

The show ended with an announcement to tell everyone to be sure and watch tomorrow evening for the first group date.

“That was lovely,” Effie said as she turned off the television. 

Plutarch put his hand across his mouth and yawned. “It’s not exactly riveting television.”

“I been looking at the clips from the group date that were shot this morning,” Fulvia said excitedly. “There’s some good stuff there. Marvel fell over the handlebars of his bike and knocked out his front teeth. Lots of blood.”

“Did you get a close up?” Plutarch questioned.

“Yes, and then I had a camera operator follow him to the dentist and film as two fake teeth were implanted,” Cressida added. “The dentist offered to pay the customary rate if we aired that little clip as part of the show.”

Plutarch put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. “Keep it exciting. That’s what makes for good ratings. Do you understand?”

He turned and gazed at Katniss.

She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek so that she wouldn’t start screaming.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day Katniss filmed two more group dates. The first was to a large grove of old-growth trees that bordered the edge of the Capitol. An instructor demonstrated how to climb the trees wearing spiked shoes, and using ropes and harnesses.

“I do this for a living,” the lumberjack from Seven bragged before he made his way up to the top of a large cottonwood tree.

Katniss scoffed in amazement. She wished Gale had been on this date. He couldn’t climb as well as her, but he certainly would have had a good laugh at the lumberjack’s expense.

Once the lumberjack was back on the ground, the other men rushed to try it. Most figured it out quickly, although Gates claimed a fear of heights and refused to even try.

After the cameras had filmed everyone making their way up the tree, Cressida turned looking for Katniss.

“Up here,” Katniss called out. The entire group looked on in amazement as she sat on the highest branch of a nearby tree. She had climbed it without using any climbing gear.

“You got that on tape, didn’t you,” Cressida shouted at one of the camera operators.

He nodded.

“Great, be sure to get her coming down as well.”

The afternoon’s group date was shopping. This seemed an odd activity to Katniss who never went into a store without the intent to purchase a particular item. The idea of shopping as a leisure activity, to walk through stores, pick up items, even try on clothes, for the sheer fun of it was ludicrous. No one in District 12 had the time or the money for such nonsense. The merchants would kick them out of the shops if they even tried.

She wasn’t surprised though, when after walking through a large open-air mall area, Cressida directed the group to a shop bearing the name of Crew’s Clothing. It was the Capitol branch of the business owned by J. Crew’s family.

Once they went inside, the sales assistants were all over them handing them clothes to try on. The afternoon was a bit of a fashion show for everyone. After a couple of hours, Cressida called cut, but not before everyone got to take away an outfit for free. 

During the mayhem of so many people in the story, Finnick furtively handed Katniss a note, which she snuck into her pocket. She guessed it was from Gale, maybe a further explanation of what was going on with him.

While Effie was chattering away in the car on the way to the penthouse, Katniss pulled the letter out of her pocket. Putting her new outfit, which was carefully wrapped in a Crew’s Clothing bag, on her lap, she unfolded the letter and used the bag to hide it.

Immediately she recognized Peeta’s writing. It was a short note without a picture, so she guessed he’d written it in a hurry.

_Dear Katniss,_

_I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye. Fulvia showed up and said it was time for me to go. You were busy with Cinna, and Effie said she’d pass along my regards. I’m guessing she did._

_I’m still in the Capitol, working with some of their bakers learning new techniques. It’s funny because of the stuff they aired on t.v.; I’ve even gotten a few job offers here. I’m considering them._

_Remember the toasting if you want an out from participating in the show. If not, I wish you and Gale a happy life together._

_Take care,_

_Peeta_

_P.S. Finnick offered to deliver this letter to you. He tracked me down because he wanted to special order some cheese buns for a friend in District 4._

 

She wished she could see him in person. She wondered if Finnick had warned him as well about what could happen if she revealed the toasting. She sighed, folding up the note and putting it into her pocket to look at later.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

After dinner, Plutarch, Fulvia, and Cressida joined Katniss and Effie again to watch that night’s episode of _The Match Game_ , which featured the first group date where they had gone to Velodrome.  Plutarch didn’t seem that impressed, although he grinned like a fool at Marvel’s bloody mouth.

“A little gore is always good for the ratings,” he said.  “Are there any more accidents coming up on future dates?”

Cressida shook her head.

“We need more drama, more excitement,” Plutarch urged. “We need to kick things up a notch.”

Fulvia frowned. “Well, there may be something. It seems that Cato has taken a serious liking to Katniss. His agent has requested more access to her. They’re willing to double their payment if he could be one of the final contestants. If he were to win...”

A wave of fear washed over Katniss until she remembered that she had the power to end _The Match Game_ whenever she wanted by mentioning the toasting. But since she hadn’t come up with a plan as of yet, so she needed to continue to play along.

“No,” she interrupted. “I signed a contract. I already picked the winner.”

“You did,” Fulvia said, looking directly at her. “But if we could get some kind of love triangle going, that would certainly hold viewers. People would be rooting for Team Cato or, your choice, Team Gale. 

Fulvia’s eyes grew brighter as a thought occurred to her. “We could bring it down to the two of them and then have the viewers pick the winner.”

“What?” A shiver ran down Katniss’ spine, as she though about how everything was spinning out of her control. The thought of revealing the toasting when it would likely cause a nationwide uproar made her gasp. 

Maybe it would be easier for everyone if she stayed in the game and married Gale. Unconsciously she reached into her pocket running her fingers over the note Peeta had sent her, desperately wishing he was here in person to help her put a stop to everything.

“It doesn’t matter who they vote for, we’d say your man won. But that way we might get some extra money from Cato.”

“I like it,” Plutarch said. “The more viewers are involved in the process, the more they are invested to watch the show. Brilliant idea, Fulvia.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day’s filming involved a special ceremony. Cinna dressed Katniss in a long blue gown. She met with the twelve contestants in a studio that was set up in _The Hunger Games_ Training Center. All of the men were wearing very dressy black suits; Cinna said they were called tuxedos.

The twelve of them stood around her in a semi-circle and Cressida told Katniss to give a red rose to Axel, Dalton, the lumberjack, and J. Crew. The roses symbolized that she had officially rejected them.

It was a good symbol of rejection because President Snow had favored roses. Even though he’d been dead for a few years, most people still hated him and the type of flowers he had grown in his hothouse.

Cressida had written in chalk on the floor the words she wanted Katniss to say to each of the men. Katniss studied the words carefully, and then lifted her head and spoke to Axel.

“Cut” Cressida called. “You’re too awkward and stiff. Can you bring some emotion to this? You’re rejecting these men; show some sympathy. A farewell kiss on the cheek would be a nice, touch, too.”

Katniss frowned. She didn’t want to kiss the men. She’d barely spoken to any of them. Having to put her lips to their faces seemed wrong.

“Can you make yourself cry?” Cressida asked. “Think of something sad.”

Katniss took a deep breath. She didn’t want to think about anything sad. It was easier not to think at all. She missed her old life in District 12. She missed Prim and her mother. She missed hunting with Gale and selling squirrels to the baker. She even missed Peeta staring at her. Now that she knew why he was staring, it only made her feel worse.

If she thought too much about everything, she was sure she’d start crying so hard that she’d never be able to stop.

Her face must have registered a look of anguish because Cressida smiled. “Hold that thought, let’s do it again.”

The entire process took several hours, because they had to stop and start over so many times.

Finally, they were done. Katniss was taken to a separate area by Castor where she was taped reading from a screen. The monologue they wanted her to say was so silly that it took her several takes to finish without laughing. It was all nonsense about how none of the men she released were her soul mate and that she was looking for true love that would last forever and beyond.

Much later, when she returned to the group, she overheard Axel telling Dalton that he was glad to be getting back to District 5 because he missed his girlfriend. Katniss looked up at him in surprise and caught his eye.

Axel laughed. “You didn’t think any of this is real Everdeen, did you?”

Katniss turned pink in embarrassment. She knew it wasn’t real for her, but she wasn’t aware of how fake the entire show was. She wasn’t the only person playing a game. They all were.

 

 

 


	12. A Narrowing Field

The next few days were similar to the previous ones. Two group dates each day. Watching the edited results on television with Effie, Fulvia, Cressida, and Plutarch each night.

Every evening Plutarch commented that the show needed more excitement to keep the viewers watching. Because they were several days ahead in filming, the request took a few days to appear on the television screen.

Cressida was pleased the next morning when an unscripted argument broke out between Marvel and Gates regarding the efficiency of solar watches when they visited a store that sold the famous Luxo watch, designed by Marvel’s grandfather. The two men almost came to blows. 

But Cressida couldn’t count on unplanned theatrics, so she created some of her own. When they visited the Capitol’s electrical facility so that Tesla could show off his superior knowledge of that industry, Cressida explained that she wanted one of the men to fake being electrocuted so that Katniss could be shown comforting him. 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the men. None of them wanted to deliberately play the fool on national television. After a few moments, however, Cato stepped forward and agreed to it. 

Cressida set up the scene where Cato accidentally touched a supposedly live cable and crumbled to the ground. Even Katniss had to admit it looked real. Cato was a good actor. 

“Now run to him Katniss and see if he’s alright.”

Katniss slowly walked over to Cato.

“Are you okay?” she asked stiffly, looking down at him lying on the ground.

“No, no, kneel at his side,” Cressida directed. “Touch his face.”

Katniss gulped. She didn’t want to touch him at all. Immediately she turned her head and glared at Gale. Why hadn’t he volunteered? But she knew why. Gale would never offer to look deliberately stupid. Cato had volunteered because he wanted the extra time on camera with her.

She knelt down next to him. “Are you okay?” she asked, awkwardly, grimacing inwardly as she put her hand to his cheek.

“I’m fine,” Cato muttered. “But a kiss would go a long way in making me feel better.” 

His arms came up to the back of her head and he pulled her down toward him. Immediately she put her hands on his chest pushing away from him, but not before got a peck in at the corner of her mouth.

Katniss wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, a frown settling on her face.

“Hey,” he yelled. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Cut,” Cressida shouted. “Let’s start again from the part where you kneel down and ask if he’s all right. Cato, you shouldn’t be the one initiating the kiss. You’re supposed to be weak from the injury. Katniss can lean over and kiss you instead.”

“What! I’m not kissing him,” Katness shrieked.

“On the cheek,” Cresida explained.

Katniss scowled. But she wanted to get this done in one take because she didn’t want to spend her afternoon kissing Cato. 

Still, they ended up doing three takes because, in Katniss’ opinion, Cato deliberately messed things up. 

When they were done filming the segment, Cato came close and whispered into her ear. “You’re mine Everdeen. Count on it.” 

Katniss jumped back as she felt his breath on her ear. She bumped into Finnick.

“Sorry,” she muttered to the victor.

“Looks like you have second admirer,” Finnick purred.

Katniss eyed him carefully. If Cato was one admirer, and she couldn’t even understand why he was interested in her, who did Finnick think was the other? Had Gale talked to him about their friendship? Or was Finnick referring to Peeta? After all he had been the one to deliver the letter to her.

And where was Gale? He was her best friend and he’d been avoiding her completely on the group dates. Was he still angry at her for getting him involved with the show, or was he jealous of her friendship with Peeta?

More orchestrated drama ensued the next morning. Cressida told Katniss to fake an ankle injury when a group date visited a small working farm in the Capitol. Marvel and Wheaton each took an arm and helped her get seated. Thresh got her a glass of water while he explained the particulars of farm life, a subject he knew well.

When the next rose ceremony took place, Katniss was instructed to say goodbye to Marvel, Tesla, Wheaton, and Thresh. It took a couple of hours to film, but by the time it was over there were only four contestants remaining, Cato, Finnick, Gates and Gale.

After the rejected men left, Cressida directed the rest of them to the roof of the Training Center where a hovercraft was waiting to take all of them to District 4. Apparently the next couple of days would be spent taping at Finnick’s beach house 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sun was just going down when they landed in District 4. Everyone piled in two cars while the drivers made their way down streets lined with palm trees. Katniss found herself sitting between Cato and Finnick in the back of one car. Cressida was riding in front with the driver.

Gale was riding in the other car along with Gates, Effie, and Castor. Katniss wondered if he had been told to stay away from her so it wouldn’t be obvious that the show was fixed. Maybe that’s why he had been avoiding her. But it seemed silly because she suspected that all the contestants knew the outcome had been predetermined. But she couldn’t think of another reason to explain why he’d been avoiding her. 

She found herself leaning into Finnick to avoid touching Cato.

“Getting cozy, are you?” Finnick purred.

Her cheeks grew pink. Her hand reached into her pocket and her fingers nervously ran over the crinkled note Finnick had passed to her days ago. She’d taken to carrying it in the pocket of whatever she was wearing. Rubbing her fingers over the paper gave her hope that things would work out. She reminded herself again that could end this game any time if she chose.

She was beginning to get relaxed when Cato leaned over and blew his warm breath onto the back of her neck.

Katniss’ jumped in her seat and let out a squeak.

She turned toward Cato. “Stop it,” she hissed.

“Getting a bit jumpy are you,” Cato smirked.

Katniss scowled at him. 

“Are we almost there?” she asked Finnick. 

“It’s just up ahead.”

Katniss leaned forward, looking past Cressida and the driver through the windshield at a large white clapboard house surrounded by a covered wrap-around porch. Beyond the house, the sky was aglow with vibrant red and orange streaks.

As soon as everyone had exited the cars and walked up the broad staircase that led to the porch, Finnick took charge. Although he was a contestant, it was his home they were staying at.

He led everyone to the back of the house where the porch opened out onto a large deck, which overlooked a sandy beach. A serving table sat on one side of the deck filled with platters of salads, fruits, meats, grilled seafood and even cheese buns. Another table held bottled drinks.

Finnick encouraged everyone to make a plate and sit down and eat. Katniss filled her plate, taking a cheese bun and eyeing it suspiciously. She wondered if it was one that Peeta had made for Finnick’s friend.

She maneuvered herself so that she was sitting next to Gale at the long table that sat on the other side of the deck.

Across the sand was the ocean, it’s blue waves lapping loudly onto the shore. As the light faded from the sky, colored lights were turned on illuminating the deck.

To Katniss the whole setting seemed like an enchanted fairyland.

“This is spectacular,” she said to Gale, bumping his arm to get his attention.

He nodded. “It is.”

A slender, brown-haired woman with bright green eyes came up to the table where everyone was eating. “Does anyone need anything more?”

“This is Annie,” Finnick grinned as he introduced her to the table.

Katniss looked at the woman. She looked familiar, but Kantiss couldn’t figure out where she would know her.

“Annie was a winner of _The Hunger Games_ , too,” Finnick said.

Katniss remembered her then; Annie Cresta had won the _Games_ the year the arena had been flooded and the other competitors had drowned.

Annie’s face turned slightly pink and she exchanged a knowing glance with Finnick that made Katniss think the couple had a serious relationship.

Conversation at the table flowed as the evening went on and the men went back to fill up their plates a second time and to get more to drink. Even Gale grew chatty as the evening progressed. At one point he made a comment and then bumped her elbow. “Isn’t that right, Catnip?’ he said.

“Yes,” she whispered, angry with him for revealing her nickname.

Cato was paying attention and immediately said, “What did you call her?”

“Catnip,” he repeated. “It’s her nickname back in District 12.”

Katniss scowled. Gale needed to stop talking now. She didn’t want Cato knowing anything about her life in District 12.

Finnick noticed her mood change. “Why don’t I have Annie show the ladies their sleeping quarters,” he said.

“That would be lovely,” Effie said, standing up. “It’s getting a little chilly out here and it’s been a long day.”

Katniss, Effie, and Cressida followed Finnick into the big kitchen with its white cabinets and extra large stove where Annie was cleaning up in the kitchen.

Finnick kissed her cheek. “Annie, show these ladies their bedroom.”

Annie smiled at Finnick and turned to the others. “Follow me,” she said.

They followed her out of the kitchen past an indoor dining room, large living room and a set of stairs to the second floor. “You’ll be sharing the large room at the end of the hall. 

She opened the door to reveal a room with two twin beds and a small seating area that included a sofa and two upholstered chairs.

There was a door in the corner of the room that Annie said led to the bathroom.

Their luggage was sitting on the floor near the beds. Effie had packed for Katniss and she handed her the bag. “You can have the bathroom first.”

Katniss carried the small suitcase into the large bathroom, which had a separate shower and bath. Her eyes flew to the large bathtub. In District 12, she and Prim and her mother bathed in a tiny tub that they had to fill with water that had been heated on the stove.

Quickly she removed her clothing, wondering for a moment if there were cameras in this bathroom, but guessing probably not. She climbed into the tub and turned on the water. A bottle of soap sat on the edge of the counter and she poured a capful into the water. Big white bubbles began to form. When she turned off the water, she was completely covered with bubbles.

She sat against the back of the tub and took a deep breath. This was probably the most relaxed she’d been in days. After a long soak, she got out of the tub, dried off, and put on the nightgown Effie had packed for her.

When she left the bathroom, the conversation immediately ceased and Effie looked up at her.

“We were beginning to wonder about you Katniss,” she smiled. “You were in there for such a long time.”

“You can have it next Effie,” Cressida said. “I’ll brief Katniss on our shoot for tomorrow.”

Katniss sat down in Effie’s chair and Cressida told her that tomorrow they’d be filming a fishing segment on Finnick’s boat. Later, in the afternoon she’d be filmed walking on the beach separately with each of the men. “You couldn’t find a more romantic setting.”

Katniss nodded sleepily.

By the time Effie got out of the bathroom and Cressida was going in, Katniss was dozing off in one of the twin beds.

She woke up early the next morning when the first streaks of light crossed the sky She went into the bathroom and dressed quickly. Effie was snoring in the other twin bed and Cressida was curled up on the couch with her mouth hanging open. Katniss left the room. She planned to go outside and sit on the deck and stare at the waves as the sun rose.

When she walked through the kitchen, she interrupted Annie and Finnick. Both had wet hair and were wrapped in towels, and hugging.

“Excuse me,” she said, embarrassed. Annie jumped back and Finnick looked up and laughed when he saw the surprised look on Katniss’ face.

“It’s a good thing there are no cameras around,” he joked. He kissed the tip of Annie’s nose and left the room.

Annie wrapped the long towel around her body securely.

“Did you go for a swim?” Katniss asked. 

“Yes,” Annie said as she puttered around the kitchen, opening up the refrigerator and pulling out food items for breakfast. “Finnick and I like to go swimming first thing in the morning when we can. 

“Is it true there are no cameras in here?” 

Annie laughed. “It’s true. Finnick oversaw the building of this house himself. He wanted a retreat where he wasn’t being spied on.” 

“Do they spy on all the victors?”

“Oh yes, but Crane’s not as bad as Snow.” She directed Katniss to a grouping of items she’d gathered on the counter. “Do you think you could make some of those cinnamon rolls?”

Katniss looked at Annie carefully. Did she watch the live feed when Katniss and Peeta had made them?”

“How did you know…?” she began.

Annie smiled. “It’s one of the perks we victors who live in the districts get – access to Capitol television programming. I love watching the cooking shows.”

She handed Katniss a large bowl, a measuring cup, and a spoon, and Katniss began making the dough for the rolls.

“You and Peeta make such a cute couple,” Annie continued. “In fact, Finnick and I were just talking about it this morning. I can’t understand why he isn’t on this show.”

Embarrassed, Katniss focused on the dough. She set it aside to rise, while she found a second bowl in a cupboard and began to make the icing. 

“I didn’t really get to know Peeta until _The Match Game_ ,” Katniss explained. “Gale is my best friend back in District 12.” 

“Is he still?” Annie questioned. “Or has Peeta has gotten between you two?” 

Annie’s comment hit Katniss like a slap in the face. Could she be right? Ever since the show had begun, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. The only conversation she’d had with Gale since the show had started had been mostly about Peeta. 

Annie handed Katniss a rolling pin. Katniss took the rising dough from the bowl, sprinkled some flour onto the counter and rolled it out. When it was flat, she dropped chunks of butter and spoonfuls of brown sugar across the dough, topping it with cinnamon just like Peeta had showed her.

She rolled the dough into a snake-like tube, and then cut it into one-inch thick wedges. Annie gave her a greased baking sheet and she placed the round wedges on it to cook.

When it was in the oven, Annie poured a cup of tea for each of them, and the two women walked over to the small table that was in the corner. A television was hanging on the wall, and Annie turned it on.

“One of my favorite cooking shows is on now,” Annie said.

A woman with pink hair, the exact shade of Fulvia’s appeared on screen. She was dressed in an outfit that had four jutting wings, making her resemble a large butterfly.

“Our special guest today is Peeta Mellark, all the way from District 12, to show us how to make cheese buns.”

Katniss gasped, when she heard his name and her eyes widened when the camera cut to Peeta. He was dressed in a white suit. He looked nervous, but he was smiling. The camera turned to the audience and several women in the front row were blowing kisses to Peeta and screaming his name. 

“Well, he’s certainly got a following,” Annie said as she sipped at her tea.

Katniss nodded, feeling oddly resentful about the women screaming his name. Did he enjoy the attention he was receiving? She watched as Peeta walked over to the counter that faced the audience and began to show the pink-haired hostess the steps involved.

He’s really good at this Katniss thought, admiring his easy banter with the woman as he made the dough.

“Watching television, while you have hungry guests?” Finnick teased Annie as he entered the kitchen. He was dressed now, although his hair was still wet. 

“You get dressed,” he murmured. “Katniss and I will finish up in here.”

Annie jumped up from her seat and left. Finnick walked over to the table and glanced at the television.

“Guess you’re not the only new television star in the Capitol these days,” he stated, before turning it off.

Katniss’ cheeks grew pink. “I think I’ll check on the cinnamon buns.”

She pulled the tray from the oven and set it on the center island to cool. Finnick pulled out a pitcher of orange juice from the refrigerator, along with a large bowl of sliced fruit to set on the counter.

Katniss frosted the cinnamon rolls and set them on a large platter.

“Finnick, can I ask you something?”

“Ask away.” 

“Why are you on the show? It’s clear you and Annie…”

Finnick interrupted her. “Why did any of the men agree to be on the show? One or two may have been looking for a wife, but most have someone back at home. I’d guess they were looking to generate some publicity for themselves or their business.”

Katniss nodded grimly. She’d figured that out very quickly.

“But what about you? You’re a victor. You don’t need publicity.”

“You’re right,” Finnick said. “I don’t. But victors are beholden to the new Capitol administration in many ways, especially if we want to continue to receive the stipend that comes with winning _The Hunger Games_. Sometimes it’s easier to play along to stay in their good graces.”

Katiss frowned. She knew all about playing along. She was already tired of it.

Finnick continued, “Katniss, you have to understand that everything the Capitol does is for money. The television network is interested in ratings of course, but only because high ratings go hand-in-hand with generating a profit. _The Hunger Games_ were extremely lucrative for the Capitol’s coffers. Because of the mandatory viewing rule, advertisers paid exorbitant sums to get their commercials aired on _The Hunger Games_ show.

“In addition, there were all the side industries that profited from _The Hunger_ _Games_ like the toy manufacturers who made victor dolls and toy weapons, the amusement consortium that leased the arenas and gave tours afterwards, and the fashion industry that made its livelihood off clothing styles worn by popular tributes or victors, to name just a few. Then there was the entire underground economy of gambling and betting on the winning and losing tributes.

“You might say that _The Hunger Games_ was a main industry of the Capitol, much as fishing is the main industry of Four, or coal the main industry of Twelve. When President Crane got rid of the _Games_ , he threw out a major source of revenue. 

“ _The Match Game_ is another attempt to generate income through the only way the Capitol knows – exploitation of the districts’ population.” 

Katniss’ mouth dropped open. She was amazed at the things Finnick had said. She knew there must not be any cameras or hidden microphones in his house or she expected Peacekeepers would come in and arrest him immediately. 

She didn’t get an opportunity to ask him more because slowly people began to trickle into the kitchen to get some food. Some stayed in the house to eat, while others moved outside to the deck to sit down and watch the waves pound on the shore.

Katniss took a cinnamon roll and a glass of orange juice and headed out to the deck. She noticed Castor was already filming the casual breakfast.

She sat down next to Gates and listened while he chatted about some a device that could turn seawater into fresh drinking water by eliminating the salt from it. She had to admit that Gates was probably the smartest man she’d ever met, but oh, he was so boring.

After everyone had eaten, Cressida ordered them into the cars. They were driven to a dock, and taken onboard a boat that was steered a mile out to sea. Everyone was given fishing poles and they spent the morning standing along the edge of the boat with their line in the water.

Katniss enjoyed the relaxing past time. It was hunting on the water to her. She caught Gale’s eye; he smiled and she knew he was enjoying it as much as she.

Gates seemed more fascinated in the construction of the fishing pole and spent most of the morning making modifications to it. He never put the line into the water once.

Cato got sick from the rocking of the boat and spent most of the time vomiting over the side.

Finnick was a natural. He was the only one to catch any fish, and he caught several. There was an area at the back of the boat where the fish were cleaned and Katniss joined him as he showed her exactly how to do it.  Castor filmed the procedure.

“You’re not very squeamish are you?” Finnick asked.

“No,” she laughed. “I’m a hunter. I skin and prepare game all the time.”

After the boat had returned to the dock and everyone had eaten lunch at the beach house, Cressida directed them to the shore so Castor could film Katniss walking on the beach separately with each contestant.

“These are just long shots to establish the beach setting. No microphones,” she said. “So walk out to that big rock, turn around and walk back.”

Katniss was wearing dark green shorts and a striped tank top. It was breezy and she was glad she’d worn her hair in a long braid, otherwise it would have been flying everywhere in the wind. Her feet were bare and she dug her toes into the sand, enjoying the wet sensation on her skin. 

Gale was the first to walk with her to the large rock that stood 200 yards ahead. 

“Hold hands,” Cressida yelled.

Katniss reluctantly reached for his hand. It felt large and calloused in her palm. She waited for Gale to say something, anything, but he was quiet. 

“What’s going on Gale?” she finally asked. “You’ve been avoiding me for days now.” 

His face bore a look of remorse. “You’re getting down to the final contestants,” he began. “You’ll have to make a choice soon.”

“I know,” she muttered, thinking that she’d have to say something soon – risk whatever consequences the Capitol threw at her and Peeta, or simply play _The Match Game_ out to its logical end.

“You see the problem is…don’t choose me.” 

She’d been staring down at her feet, watching them sink in the wet sand as she walked. She froze when she heard Gale’s plea. He was her best friend. Ever since she’d signed the contract to star on _The Match Game_ she’d counted on him to rescue her.

She looked up at him, shock on her face. “What do you mean?” 

“Katniss, we’ve been friends for the past seven years, good friends, but really only friends. I have had a life outside of hunting with you.”

“Who is she? Katniss asked angrily, as the full impact of what Gale was implying hit her. 

“Well, over the past few years there’s been too many to remember, but for the last couple of months there’s only been one girl. And, well…she’s the one for me.” 

“Who Gale?” she shouted.

“Madge.”


	13. Showdown

Katniss’ mouth dropped open. “Madge Undersee?”

“Yeah,” he said sheepishly. “I should have told you. I was going to. But we were waiting until after graduation to say anything. And then you left for the show.”

“Did her father get you a job in the Justice Building?” she asked, remembering what she’d seen on television. 

“He did,” Gale said. “I’ll start there as soon as I get back.” 

“Oh.” The news was so surprising that it rendered her speechless for a few minutes. As the star of _The Match Game_ , she’d intended to rescue Gale from the mines, but he’d already done that for himself. They continued to walk, but then the anger bubbled up and she stopped to face him.

“Why did you come to the Capitol then?” she fumed. “You’re not even an eligible contestant.”

Of course very few of the contestants were eligible, in the sense that they were unattached bachelors, but that was beside the point.

Gale bit his lip. “I didn’t want to come. But Mayor Undersee thought I should. He was concerned that they’d stop construction on the medicine factory if I refused. The foundation’s already been laid and…”

His voice dropped off and a look of frustration crossed his face. “It would have been nice if you had talked to me about everything beforehand Catnip instead of planning my future for me. Did it even occur to you I might want to have some say in who I married?”

Katniss’ face turned to stone, embarrassed at Gale’s rejection of her. But could it be rejection if there had never been anything romantic between them in the first place?

“I know Finnick is taken, and you don’t like Cato,” Gale continued. “Can’t say I blame you. He can be an ass. But Gates seems all right. A little too obsessed with his work, if you ask me. But a decent sort.” 

Katniss snorted. Gates. Was this Gale’s idea of a joke? 

“Katniss you’ve never been interested in romance. For years Peeta’s been pining away for you, and you’ve completely ignored him. So why would it matter which guy you end up with, as long as the person treats you well?

Katniss flinched at his comment about Peeta. If Gale knew that Peeta liked her, why hadn’t he said anything to her? But then she remembered that he had. But she had interpreted it as Gale being jealous.

“I think Gates would treat you well,” he continued. “At any rate you’ll be financially set for life. You might not live in District 12, but you’d have the money to visit often. Maybe your mother and Prim would be willing to relocate to be near to you.”

Katniss realized that Gale was speaking out loud his rationalization as to why he didn’t need to feel guilty.

She had to admit that she was angry with Gale, and even Madge, for keeping their relationship secret from her. But then she remembered her mother warning her to talk to Gale about _The Match Game_ even before she signed the contract. Katniss had been so sure about their friendship, so sure that Gale would help her out that she hadn’t bothered.

And Gale was right, she hadn’t been interested in romance when she signed _The Match Game_ contract. She’d already resigned herself to a marriage of friendship and survival.

Katniss and Gale turned and walked back toward the others who were grouped together on the beach.

As they got closer, Gale pulled his hand from hers. Katniss caught his eye, but he looked away. Sorry excuses for friends that’s what we are, she thought. 

“Beautiful,” Cressida shouted. “That looked like a very intense conversation.” 

Katniss tried to pay attention as she was filmed walking with Gates on the beach. But she was quickly bored as he talked about the importance of some electronic device he’d invented. Gale was right in his assessment that Gates was decent, but she had nothing in common with the man. She could not picture a future with him. Besides for all she knew, he had a girlfriend back home like most of the other contestants.

She grimaced as she took Cato’s hand. He spoke to her softly and she couldn’t hear what he was saying over the roar of the waves and the wind that was picking up.

“What did you say?” she asked, as she leaned in closer. Cato took that opportunity to kiss the side of her face.

The slobber of wet mouth on her skin jolted Katniss from her mental stupor. She shrieked and pushed him away, shoving him toward the waves. When they walked back separately, Cressida was beaming.

“That looked so playful,” she said. “Great.”

Finnick was the last person Katniss was filmed with. As they strolled down the beach, his arm linked around hers, Katniss asked his advice.

“How angry does the Capitol get if you don’t play by their rules?”

“So does your rule breaking involved toasted bread?” 

Kantiss frowned, remembering his warning at the cocktail party weeks ago. “How did you even know about that?”

Finnick laughed. “When I won _The Hunger Games_ and visited Twelve on the Victory Tour, my mentor Mags told me about your district’s quaint marriage ritual. She wanted to make sure that I didn’t inadvertently get hitched to some crafty girl, who was looking to marry a victor.”

“Someone would do that?”

“You’d be surprised at what they’ll do when you’re well known. I’m sure your friend Peeta is experiencing that now.”

Katniss thought back to the women screaming Peeta’s name on the television that morning. Suddenly she felt even sicker than she had when Gale had told her about Madge.

“Well, they’ll be angry,” Finnick said, answering her original question. “Your best defense would be to say that you were both so madly in love that you weren’t responsible for your actions. The Capitol thrives on a good love story.”

“Will they just end the show if I tell them what we did?”

Finnick laughed. “Do you really think they’d end it? No, you’ll have to see it through. Marry him in a Capitol wedding, assuming he’s willing, and from what I’ve seen, he may be.”

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They left District 4 that afternoon by hovercraft to visit District 3 to shoot another group date. Gates led everyone on a personal tour of a factory that made high-tech toys. It was fun to play with the inventive gadgets, but Katniss was disappointed to learn that the products were only available to people in the Capitol who had the extra money to pay for such devices.

Afterwards, the group returned to the Capitol.

The next morning Cressida instructed Katniss to present Finnick and Gates with a rose and bid them goodbye. For once Katniss didn’t have to pretend to be sorry to see them go. Both men had treated her kindly, and she considered them to be friends.

Gale looked at her in surprise as she let Gates depart. Maybe someday she’d get the chance to tell Gale that she had no real say over the outcome of the game. 

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That evening Plutarch, Fulvia, and Cressida arrived at the penthouse to join Katniss and Effie in watching the day’s episode of _The Match Game_.

Katniss had missed the previous night’s show because they had traveling back from District 3. Apparently, Plutarch hadn’t been impressed. Tonight’s episode featured Cato’s fake electrocution and Katniss’ comforting kiss.

After the show ended, Plutarch called the episode a little better, but not quite there yet.

“We’ll see if we can do a better job of editing future shows,” Fulvia replied, glaring at Cressida. “But we’re down to the final two contestants now. We’ll have to come up with a spectacular finale.”

Katniss took a deep breath. This was the moment. It was time to tell them what she’d done -- that she had married Peeta weeks ago in a toasting that had been aired on television in the Capitol. _The Match Game_ was over. But then she remembered Finnick’s words. The Capitol wouldn’t let her off so easily. No matter what she said, the show would go on. She would never return to her old life as a single woman living in District 12. If she told them, at the very least she’d have to marry Peeta for real.

He had said he wanted to help her when he suggested the fake toasting. But would Peeta want to be married to her for real? How could she force him into something that he might later regret? Especially now that he had attained celebrity status in the Capitol with adoring female fans. It seemed wrong to hold him to a fake marriage. They were only friends.

That had been her mistake with Gale, assuming that the relationship was stronger than it was. She didn’t want to make the same error again. The only choice she had was Cato. She didn’t want him, but he wanted her. She didn’t like him, but she imagined she could grow to tolerate him at least. Maybe somewhere down the road they would have a marriage based on friendship.

So Katniss didn’t say anything as Cressida outlined the next day’s schedule – a hovercraft ride to District 2 to see Cato’s family business, then a flight home to District 12 to film Gale on his home turf.

Katniss hoped she’d get a chance to meet up with Prim and her mother. It might be her last opportunity to visit home for a while because once she was married to Cato, she would live in District 2.

She didn’t sleep very well that night. She’d made the decision she thought was best for everyone. Gale and Peeta would have the futures they deserved, not something she imposed on them. Cato would be happy. No one would be hurt by her actions, except for herself. And that was okay, because she had the strength to deal with it. That’s what Katniss Everdeen excelled at -- putting everyone else’s needs before her own.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Katniss paid close attention the next day as she toured Cato’s family business. It some ways it was very similar to visiting the coal mines in District 12. Although Gale was avoiding her, Katniss could tell he was curious about the procedures used to extract the stone from the earth and then shape and polish it to be turned into building materials.

For the first time ever, Cato didn’t act like a jerk around her. He introduced her to his father and his brothers nervously. Katniss even managed a faint smile.

After the tour, everyone got back onto the hovercraft for District 12.

“We’ll do a quick walking tour,” Cressida told them. “We’re already got lots of footage of Twelve, although we need something of that medicine factory since they paid the contestant’s entrance fee for the district. Also, we need to get some tape of Gale in front of the Justice Building.”

Katniss sat back in the leather seat of the hovercraft and sighed. She wanted to go home, but it seemed so painful because it wouldn’t be her home much longer.

The hovercraft landed on the other side of town, behind the town square. Katniss got out and breathed the fresh air of District 12. She wished she could leave the group and go hunting. A sharp pain pierced her chest as she realized she’d probably never get to go into the woods of her district again.

At least she’d noticed some wooded areas before the hovercraft landed in District 2. Maybe she could hunt there in the future, if Cato didn’t object.

The five of them, Cressida, Castor, Katniss, Gale, and Cato made their way to the Justice Building where Castor filmed Gale talking about the important district business that occurred inside of it. Since he hadn’t even started working there, his comments were quite vague and a bit inarticulate. It was obvious to Katniss that her friend didn’t have the way with words that Peeta had.

News must have spread throughout the district that Katniss and Gale had returned because it wasn’t long until the Hawthorne family and Katniss’ mother and sister had arrived at the Justice Building.

Cressida told Castor to film construction on the nearby medicine factory while Katniss and Gale greeted their families. 

Sometime during the short reunion Madge arrived. She ran up to Gale, hugged him tightly, and then kissed him long and hard on the mouth.

Cressida eyed the couple curiously glancing quickly at Katniss, who had immediately turned her back to them once Madge had appeared.

Cato stood off to the side grinning. After re-connecting with Prim and her mother, Katniss introduced them to Cato. He smiled politely. “It’s good to meet my future wife’s family,” he said.

A curious look crossed Mrs. Everdeen’s face but she quickly recovered.

“What?” Prim choked. She looked like she wanted to say more, but Katniss grabbed her arm and squeezed it.

“We really need to get going,” Cressida interrupted, when Castor returned. “We need to stop by the bakery to pick up some things for Fulvia before it closes, then we have to start for the Capitol.”

Katniss and Gale reluctantly said their goodbyes.

“We’ll see you in the Capitol for Katniss’ wedding,” Cressida called out to Mrs. Everdeen and Prim, as she herded everyone toward the town square.

Katniss reached into her pocket and rubbed Peeta’s tattered letter frantically. The thought of going into the bakery for what would probably be the last time in a long time made her sad. But Peeta wasn’t there she reminded herself. He was back in the Capitol with his adoring fans.

The witch was manning the front counter when everyone walked into the bakery. She startled a bit when she saw Cressida with her bald head tattooed with vines; but she gave Katniss her customary glare.

“What can I do for you?” Mrs. Mellark asked, her voice sounding strained.

Cressida pulled a crumpled list from her pocket and began to read from it. When she asked for a dozen cheese buns, Mrs. Mellark turned toward the kitchen.

“Peeta, bring out more cheese buns.” 

Amazed Katniss watched Peeta carry in a tray and set it onto the counter that stood next to the bakery case.

He was wearing his usual bakery garb covered with a white apron. His hair was starting to grow longer from his Capitol haircut and it was tousled about, as if he had been running his hands through it. His cheeks were rosy, probably from the heat of the ovens and the contrast made his eyes look even bluer than usual.

He looked around the bakery catching sight of the visitors. His eyes locked onto Katniss. He studied her curiously.

“I thought you were staying in the Capitol,” Katniss mumbled. “I saw you on t.v.” Her heart was pounding. She hadn’t seen Peeta in person in weeks. After today, she might never see him again.

“I left a couple of days ago. That life wasn’t for me.”

His mother glared at him. “That’s all Peeta. Go back and finish up those cookies.”

“All right,” he said, but his eyes stayed on Katniss. “Oh, I forgot. I copied down a few more of those recipes you wanted for the book we were working on in the Capitol. I have them in the back.”

Mrs. Mellark’s eyes flashed. “You what? You’ve giving this girl our family’s baking recipes?”

She raised her hand as if to strike him, but quickly lowered it, when she remembered there were others watching.

“No, these are some of Dad’s dinner recipes.”

Mrs. Mellark frowned. “I guess those don’t matter. It’s not like they’re anything special.”

“Why don’t you come back and get them Katniss,” Peeta suggested.

Katniss looked from Peeta to his mother, who looked ready to explode in rage.

“Get them,” Cressida urged. “Plutarch was talking about finding a publisher for the book.”

“Really,” Mrs. Mellark, cooed, her mood quickly changing. “Our family’s dinner recipes published in a book. That would be something.”

Slowly, Katniss walked around the counter, past Mrs. Mellark, and followed Peeta into the kitchen.

In the back room, trays of raw cookie dough were set out on the counter. She followed Peeta into a tiny office, not much bigger than a small closet. Once she was inside, Peeta reached behind her and closed the door.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her back against the door. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden?

“What are _you_ doing?” he countered, taking a step closer until he was right in front of her. “Did you know Gale and Madge are getting married next month? Madge put in an order for the cake yesterday.”

Katniss swallowed hard. “Gale told me they were together. I didn’t know about the wedding, though.”

“I see two contestants left out there,” Peeta said. “Are you planning to marry Cato? I saw you two on television last night.”

He frowned at her and Katniss turned pink, remembering her kiss with Cato that had aired. Did Peeta think she actually _liked_ Cato? Is that what this was all about?

She shook her head. “I don’t..” she began, but he interrupted.

“I gave you an out. Why aren’t you using it?”

“It’s not an out,” she explained. “They’re not going to cancel the show. I have to marry someone.”

“Katniss, you already did,” he whispered. He slowly ran his thumb along her jaw line, under her chin, and down her neck. She shivered in anticipation, waiting to see what he would do next. Her eyelids slowly closed as he leaned into her, his warm lips capturing hers, pinning her against the door.

He pulled away after a minute. Her eyes opened wide as she looked into his blue ones. She licked her lower lip. She wasn’t ready to stop. She’d been missing Peeta for far too long. Missing his compliments, his kindness, his caring, his cooking.

She reached up and hungrily pulled his face back toward hers. Her mind went blank as she focused on the feelings bubbling up inside.

In all of Effie’s descriptions of kisses, she had never mentioned the warm sensation that was spreading throughout Katniss’ body as their kisses deepened. Instead of feeling satisfied, her need was intensifying.

After a few minutes, or maybe it was a few hours, Katniss lost all sense of time, she heard Mrs. Mellark yelling.

“Open this door right now. What’s going on in there?”

Someone was trying to push the door open, but the combined weight of Katniss and Peeta leaning on it was making it difficult.

Peeta finally drew away, pressing his face into her hair. “I’m going to tell them,” he murmured.

Katniss blinked. She was so dazed she could hardly think straight, but then she realized what he was saying. “No Peeta,” she insisted. “I can’t let you. You’ll have to marry me for real.”

“Maybe I want to,” he whispered. 

Katniss heart was thumping loudly. She took a deep breath. Would her heartbeat ever calm down? All she knew was that here with Peeta she felt safe. How could she even think about marrying Cato now, knowing what she’d be giving up with Peeta?

Mrs. Mellark continued pushing on the door and Katniss stepped forward wrapping her arms around Peeta’s neck, burying her face into his chest. His arms wrapped around her waist.

“Get your hands off that girl,” Mrs. Mellark screamed as she got the door partly open and pushed her way into the office. She grabbed at Peeta’s arms trying to pull them off of Katniss.

Kantiss felt a blow hit her back and she pushed herself further into Peeta who was now sitting on the desk behind him. He reached down and pulled Katniss up into his lap.

Blows rained down on the two of them as Mrs. Mellark pelted them with her fists. Peeta quickly twisted his body around so that he, not Katniss, would take the brunt of the battering.

The hits lasted several seconds before Mrs. Mellark screamed and then the strikes stopped. Katniss turned her head from Peeta’s chest to see that Gale had grabbed Mrs. Mellark from behind and was pulling her away.

Castor pointed the camera into the closet and Katniss immediately turned back embarrassed. She buried her face into Peeta’s chest.

“Did you get it all?” Cressida asked. Castor mumbled affirmatively. 

Peeta twisted back around and Katniss slid down off his lap and stood up. He stood up behind her, holding her waist as they left the office. Gale was no longer holding Mrs. Mellark but she was standing with her arms crossed and her face bright red.

Cressida was beaming. “Plutarch will love this.”

Katniss winced. Gale was smirking, while Cato looked almost as angry as Mrs. Mellark.

“Peeta you’ll need to come back to the Capitol with us.” Cressida insisted.

“He can’t,” Mrs. Mellark blustered. “We need him here at the bakery. He’s spent too much time in the Capitol already. It’s confused him completely.” She glared at her son.

“We can manage without him for a while longer,” Mr. Mellark stated firmly. 

Katniss looked around. Did Mr. Mellark see what had happened?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was a quiet ride back to the Capitol. Katniss sat with her head back in the seat and her eyes closed. Peeta sat next to her. He tried to hold her hand, but she pulled it away. She was embarrassed. She was not a person who liked being the center of attention, and the spectacle that she’d been part of in the Mellark Bakery had been more than she could handle.

When the hovercraft landed, Katniss followed Cressida back to the penthouse. Peeta attempted to go with them, but Cressida directed him to go with Gale and Cato to the house they were staying at.

Peeta mouthed a goodbye to her and she smiled faintly before turning and leaving with Cressida.

The night’s episode of _The Match Game_ had already aired when she and Cressida got to the penthouse. Plutarch, Fulvia and Effie were sitting at the dining room table talking. Katniss looked at Cressida and yawned.

“It’s been a long day. You can turn in,” the director said.

Katniss headed for her bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“I got your message,” Fulvia said, looking at Cressida, as she took a seat at the table. “What happened in Twelve?”

“Probably the best footage we’ve had during the entire show,” Cressida crowed.

Everyone looked at her expectantly.

“Katniss was making out in a closet at the bakery and Mrs. Mellark found her and attacked her.

“What!?” Fulvia screamed. “Was it Cato? His people will pay extra for kisses.”

“No,” Cressida said. “It was Peeta Mellark.”

“No,” Effie cried out, her hand falling upon her heart dramatically. “I knew there was something between those two.” She smiled. “I just knew it.” She paused. “I thought he was still in the Capitol, though.”

“He went home a couple of days ago,” Fulvia said. “You picked up my bakery order then Cressida?"

The director nodded.

“So did you actually get the making out part on tape?” Plutarch interrupted. “It’s taken that kid long enough to do something.”

Cressida’s face dropped. “Not entirely. We did get them looking fairly cozy. She was sitting on his lap and they were snuggling. But we have great footage of them being attacked by his mother.”

Plutarch groaned. “Why was she kissing him if she’s planning to marry the other fellow from her district?”

“Apparently the contestant she choose has a girl back home,” Cressida said. “The girl ran right up and kissed him in front of Katniss. It was awkward, to say the least.” 

“This is exactly the kind of situation I told you to avoid,” Plutarch glared at Fulvia.

“What?” Fulvia shouted. “He didn’t tell me he had a girlfriend when he agreed to do the show.” 

“So I guess Cato is the winner,” Plutarch said.

“She’s already said she doesn’t want Cato,” Cressida pointed out.

“I don’t care about who she wants,” Plutarch stated. “We’re putting on a wedding in a week, and we need a groom. Cato is the last man left in the game. It’s not our fault her friend didn’t want her.”

Fulvia sighed. “This is awful. The wedding night special will be aired throughout Panem. We need her to look like she’s enjoying herself, not getting ravished. Sales of that tape could potentially bring in a lot of money.”

“We can drug her,” Plutarch suggested.

“And keep her drugged when she goes back to live with Cato in District 2?” Fulvia asked sarcastically. “It’s not going to work.”

“I brought Peeta back to the Capitol with me,” Cressida interrupted. “I think we should bring him into the game. Believe me, they looked very cozy together.”

Plutarch closed his eyes tightly, rubbing her temples. “It’s too late. What are people going to think if we announce a rule change? It will make _The Match Game_ look fixed.”

“I think we could sell it,” Cressida argued. “We’ve got lots of footage of them already, things we’ve never used from those cameras Castor installed for us on the train. The districts never saw the live feed from the penthouse. We could edit everything, turn them into star-crossed lovers that came together as we were preparing the show.” 

“There’s that lovely moment when they kissed in front of the fire,” Effie remembered.

“Oh, I wish I had insisted upon Peeta from the beginning,” Fulvia said. “I had a bad feeling about her choice.”

 

 

 


	14. Ready Or Not

Katniss had gone into her bedroom and closed the door. But she wasn’t tired. Her mind could hardly settle down. She paced around the room for a while, then opened the door and snuck out. She had to get away. She thought about going to the roof, but then she heard voices mention Peeta. Katniss stole down the hallway to hear what they were saying.

When Cressida began discussing bringing Peeta into the game, Katniss went back to her bedroom. She’d heard enough. She was sick of the game. Anything that she shared with Peeta was between them. It didn’t belong to Panem. It needed to develop naturally – to thrive or fail on its own -- not be rushed to fit a television schedule.

Keeping her clothes on, she lay on her bed listening for Effie to return to her room. Katniss remained on her bed for another hour before getting up. She left her room and made her way to the roof, shutting the door tightly behind her. 

She walked out to the edge and leaned against the railing, shivering slightly in the cool air. Even though it was the middle of the night, there was still traffic on the streets. Occasionally people staggered down the sidewalks no doubt intoxicated from an evening of revelry. Did these people realize how lucky they were to have a private life? 

She wandered over to the garden, past the bench where Peeta had told her about the cameras only a couple of weeks earlier. She walked through the garden, looking carefully at the ornamental flowers, shrubs, and trees.

A small greenhouse stood at the far edge. She hadn’t noticed it before, but then she and Peeta had only sat on the bench, they hadn’t walked the entire length of the garden. She approached it and opened the door to find that the building, lit only by the pale moonlight, was filled with roses. All different colors and varieties.

The air was warm and the scent of the flowers was overpowering. To Katniss it was the smell of rejection. She looked around for cameras, but didn’t notice anything obvious. She ducked down until the counter, curled herself into a tiny ball and let the tears fall.

She fell asleep after a while and woke up to a gentle shaking. Cinna was bending over her.

“Wake up, Katniss,” he whispered. 

It was morning. She tried to stand, but her muscles had cramped after sleeping in such an awkward position. 

“Why are you here?” he asked. 

She rubbed her eyes that were puffy from crying. 

“I can’t do it Cinna,” she said. “I want to go home.”

“Because you’re not in love?” he countered. 

“I don’t know how I feel,” she admitted. “I came here ready to marry Gale because we’re friends at least, but he’s fallen for someone else. Then, I thought I could marry Cato even though I can’t stand him. I could make myself do it. Now they’re going to bring Peeta into the game.” 

“Do you care about Peeta?” he asked gently. 

She nodded.

“Does he care about you?”

“Yes.” That was probably the only thing she was certain about right now. Peeta cared for her. “I never wanted to fall in love, though.”

“But Katniss, love is part of life. If you miss love, you’ll miss life.”

She pondered Cinna’s words. Ever since she’d kissed Peeta yesterday, no even before that, the thought of him had stirred so many feelings within her – happiness, reassurance, longing, hope. So many good things in life that she’d been denying herself for so long. It was like she had been waiting for something. Was it Peeta? 

“But what if…” she began.

“Some things are worth taking a risk,” Cinna interrupted, reaching for her hand. “Let’s go downstairs. Effie’s torn the penthouse apart looking for you. I imagine she’ll have Peacekeepers searching the streets soon.”

Pre-wedding jitters, Effie called Katniss’ escape to the roof. She sent Katniss to her room to shower and get dressed before sitting her down to eat. As Katniss downed her cereal and juice, Effie, Cressida, and Cinna joined her to discuss her upcoming interview with Caesar.

“This is where things stand now,” Cressida explained. “Gale and Cato remain in the game as contestants. However, from what I witnessed yesterday I’m guessing Gale is no longer your choice?”

Katniss nodded, looking away in embarrassment. 

“From what you’ve said in the past and from what I’ve seen off camera, I’m guessing you’re not interested in Cato.”

Katniss nodded. Two days ago, she would have resigned herself to him. But she couldn’t now. Not after seeing Peeta, and kissing him, and hearing him say how much he wanted her. A giddy sensation ran through her chest as she thought about him and those kisses.

“Tonight we’re going on Caesar Flickerman’s show to announce a rule change,” Cressida said. “We’ll be adding Peeta into the game. Based on what happened yesterday, I assume you’re all right with it.”

Katniss nodded shyly, her cheeks turning pink. She glanced at Cinna, immediately feeling reassured at the warmth she saw in his brown eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

She spent the rest of the day preparing for the interview. Effie helped her formulate answers to the scripted questions Caesar would ask; later Cinna dressed her in a muted orange dress. 

“Don’t be so nervous,” Cinna said, as he completed her makeup. “There’s no audience for the show because it won’t be aired for several days. “If anything goes wrong, Cressida will fix it in the editing process.”

She arrived at Caesar’s television set late that afternoon. She wondered where Gale, Cato, and Peeta were. She thought they would be part of the show, but maybe she was wrong, maybe Caesar only wanted to interview her. 

She stood on the side of the stage as a band played the intro music that signified the opening of the show. Caesar entered from the other side to a recording of thunderous applause. 

“Good evening ladies and gentleman,” Caesar said to the empty chairs facing him. “Tonight we are here to meet up again with the lovely Katniss Everdeen who has been wooed by Panem’s most eligible bachelors over the past few weeks.”

At the edge of the stage, Katniss rolled her eyes at Caesar’s blatant lie. Cressida pushed her from behind and the sound of applause echoed through the studio. 

She down on an upholstered chair facing Caesar, smiled, and made eye contact just as Effie had taught her. 

“Well, Katniss you’re down to two finalists.”

She nodded and looked at the empty seats, glad that there was no audience. 

“But I understand there’s a rule change coming,” he said. “Here to tell us all about it is Plutarch Heavensbee, the head of network programming for Panem.”

More recorded applause sounded as Plutarch came out onto the stage. He shook Caesar’s hand and kissed Katniss’ cheek before sitting down in a chair next to her.

“So what’s this all about?” Caesar said leaning forward in his chair. 

Plutarch cleared his throat. “Well Caesar,” he began. “When we created this show, we intended for our lovely Miss Everdeen to find a husband from among one of twelve bachelors. But it seems there was another love affair developing right under our noses of which we weren’t aware.”

Caesar leaned back in his chair, one hand covering his mouth as if anticipation of a juicy bit gossip.

Plutarch continued. “Capitol viewers were privy to the airing of some special domestic training Miss Everdeen received to prepare her for her new life as a wife. Her teacher was a handsome baker, Peeta Mellark. It seems that two developed a serious friendship.”

“How intriguing,” Caesar said, glancing at Katniss and smiling.

“We’ve decided to add Peeta into _The Match Game_. He will be lucky 13 in our collection of bachelors to woo Miss Everdeen, giving her a baker’s dozen from which to choose.”

“Adding a baker to make it a baker’s dozen,” Caesar chuckled. “That’s very clever. When will we get to meet this handsome lad?”

Plutarch smiled. “He came here with me.”

Caesar turned to Katniss. “You know what that means Katniss. You must sit behind the pillar while I interview our newest contestant.”

Katniss stood up and followed a stagehand that directed her to the same chair she’d sat at a couple of weeks ago when the other contestants were interviewed.

There was a small monitor in front of her and she watched Peeta come out on stage. The fake applause track that played included a few screams. Katniss wondered if they had simply played back the soundtrack from the cooking show she’d watched with Annie.

Peeta was dressed in a forest green shirt and dark pants. He shook Caesar’s hand and patted Plutarch’s shoulder before sitting in the seat Katniss had vacated. 

“Well Peeta, it seems you have made quite an impression on the ladies in our audience.”

Peeta stared out at the empty chairs and grinned, before turning back to Caesar.

“Tell us about yourself,” Caesar said.

“I’m a baker in District 12,” Peeta began.

“Did you know the lovely Miss Everdeen from home then?”

“Only as someone I’ve always admired,” Peeta said.

“So your friendship started here in the Capitol?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “I was given the job of teaching Katniss how to bake.”

“And now you’re ready to throw your apron into the ring to join the other men who are eager to marry our lovely girl.”

Peeta smiled. “I’m more than ready.”

Katniss heart thumped loudly.

“And if you win, you’ll marry her in a big Capitol wedding?” Caesar added.

“Certainly,” Peeta said. “We’d want to share our happiness with all of Panem. But District 12 has its own marriage customs too.”

“Really,” Caesar said. “What are they?” 

Katniss heart pounded as Peeta described a toasting to Caesar and Plutarch. Caesar had a smile on his face, but Plutarch’s face turned red. Katniss thought he might choke. He’s figured it out, she thought. She guessed this was not the type of excitement and drama he’d been requesting for so long.

“That’s very interesting,” Caesar said. “I think we have a tape of the two of you. Let’s watch it now.”

The lights dimmed, and the three of them turned to watch as a screen lowered from the ceiling.

The film opened with Peeta telling Katniss she was the prettiest girl in District 12 while they stood in the hallway of the train, then cut to her sitting at breakfast drinking hot chocolate with him. Next, it showed them making cookies in the kitchen of the penthouse, leaning on the railing of the roof looking over the city, putting together the recipe book, and lastly the toasting in front of the fire. 

When the tape ended, and the lights turned back on, the atmosphere had changed. Someone yelled “cut” and Plutarch called for Katniss to come back to the interview area.

She slowly walked toward Caesar. This clearly wasn’t part of the show. Cressida had come onto the stage and was arguing with Plutarch.

“I can edit all of that out. No one will know.”

Then she heard a crash from behind the side curtain and Cato ran onto the stage. He was yelling and cursing.

He looked right at Katniss, and called her an obscene name.

Her face went red, but not before she saw Peeta jump from his seat. 

Cato turned and ran toward Peeta. When he got close enough he took a swing at Peeta’s face. Peeta blocked the punch, and then put his two hands onto Cato’s chest pushing him backwards.

“Who do you think you are?” Cato shouted. “She was mine. I was in this game from the beginning.”

Plutarch reached forward and grabbed Cato’s shoulders, pushing Peeta out of the way.

Cato calmed down immediately and glared at Plutarch.

“My family paid good money to get me on the show,” he yelled. “I was told I had a chance to win. But this Katniss,” he spit out her name, “was already married to him according to the traditions of her district before _The Match Game_ even started.” He glared at Peeta, before turning back to Plutarch. “This show is a complete fraud. I want my money back.”

Surprise crossed Katniss’ face. She glanced at Peeta. He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. She’d never thought about the implications of what they’d done in terms of how it affected the other players in the game. She guessed Peeta hadn’t either. Cato was right. If he had entered the game under the assumption that it was real, even if he was the only player who did, he had been cheated.

From the corner of the stage she saw Gale, slowly shaking his head at her. Embarrassed, she looked away.

“Calm down, young man,” Plutarch told Cato. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

He looked at Cressida. “Where is Fulvia? I thought she was going to be here.”

“She’s back at her office taking care of the wedding arrangements,” Cressida said.

Caesar interrupted. “Can we go ahead and finish the show?”

Cressida nodded. “Let’s begin after the film ends. Pretend Peeta never said anything about the toasting.”

Katniss was directed back to the chair on the other side of the stage. Cressida led an irate Cato off stage.

Caesar asked Peeta a few more questions for his interview segment, before dismissing him, and asking Katniss to return.

She pretended enthusiasm when she spoke about picking a winner, but her stomach was churning. Why did Peeta have to mention the toasting? He was going to be part of the game. Didn’t he know that she would pick him? 

Finally the show ended. Katniss expected that she and Peeta would be brought before Plutarch and yelled at. Instead, she was taken back to the penthouse. Cato stayed behind to talk with Plutarch, while Peeta and Gale left by car to return to the house where they’d been staying. 

The next morning a meeting was held in Plutarch’s office to discuss how to handle the fallout of Peeta’s revelation. Katniss sat at the conference table next to Peeta. Across from them were Plutarch, Fulvia, Cressida and Effie.

Peeta reached for her hand under the table and squeezed it, as if to reassure her. She wanted to turn and smile at him, but it seemed wrong when everyone on the other side of the table was so upset. 

Plutarch began the meeting by telling everyone that Cato had left the Capitol and returned to District 2. “We’ve had to refund all the money he paid. Hopefully that will be enough and he won’t sue us.”

Katniss bit her lower lip. She remembered Finnick telling her that the entire point of _The Match Game_ had been to raise revenue for the Capitol’s coffers.

“We still have to film his rose ceremony,” Fulvia said. “How are we going to do it?” She looked at Cressida.

“I’ve already lined up a body double,” the director said. “If we shoot him from behind, we can probably get away with it. We’ll have to cancel the one-on-one dates we’d planned to shoot. But I can work around it. There’s enough footage of Katniss with each of the men to pull some kind of montage together.”

“What about the ballots that were sent out for people to vote for a winner?” Plutarch asked.

“We’ll say that everyone wrote in Peeta’s name,” Fulvia explained. “Those ballots were never real anyway; they were only a publicity gimmick.”

“Will Cato try to cause any trouble because of all this?” Effie asked. “He seems so spiteful.”

“We control all communications in the country,” Plutarch replied. “He can stir things up in District 2 but who’s going to care about a disgruntled contestant who wasn’t chosen to win. I wouldn’t be surprised if his reaction and threats weren’t a ruse to get his entrance fee back altogether.”

After a lot of talking, the meeting ended and Katniss and Peeta were left alone in Plutarch’s office as the others went downstairs to the editing studio to see how Cressida had re-edited the previous day’s interview with Caesar.

“Do you think they’re filming us right now?” Katniss asked, as she glanced around the office searching for devices embedded into the walls.

“Probably, does it matter?”

She shook her head. “I guess not.” She played with the hem of her shirt. She had to know what Peeta had been thinking. They hadn’t had a chance to talk after the interview with Caesar.

“Why did you tell Caesar about the toasting?” she asked. “You didn’t have to. You were going to be in the game.”

“I wanted to be sure you picked me, not Cato, he admitted, his blue eyes locking into her grey ones. “I was worried that you’d try to save me from whatever life you thought I’d be forced into when the Capitol made us get married for real. You said as much the other day.”

She nodded, amazed that he knew her so well. She suddenly realized that in his quiet way, Peeta was just as competitive as Cato, probably even more so. 

And clever, too. By staging a toasting with her before the start of _The Match Game_ , he had effectively made her ineligible for the show even before it began and declared himself the winner by default. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next few days passed quickly as Katniss was kept busy. A rose ceremony was held for Gale and Cato’s double.

Afterwards, when the camera was turned off, Katniss said goodbye to Gale. He was returning to District 12. Although, he was invited to her and Peeta’s big Capitol wedding, he wanted to get back.

“I miss Madge,” he told Katniss. “And I’ve got some wedding planning of my own to do. I hope this show doesn’t change things between us,” he added. “We’ll still be hunting partners, right?”

Katniss nodded. She was still upset with him for keeping his romance with Madge a secret, but she knew he had ample reason to be upset with her as well. She hoped time would heal both their wounds.

“It all worked out for the best,” Gale continued. “Peeta is a good person and he likes you a lot. I think he has for a long time.”

“He has,” she agreed.

“And I think you like him, too.  It’s just taken you a while to figure it out.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that day, a scene was filmed in which she officially selected Peeta as her husband and asked him to marry her. She felt awkward and uncomfortable and the scene had to be shot several times until Katniss got it right and didn’t flub her lines. It didn’t help that Peeta looked so handsome in his suit and seemed so happy that she had picked him.

Cressida filmed their kiss after Katniss’ proposal. The director let the camera run for several minutes as the couple continued kissing after she called “cut.” Katniss did her best to make Effie proud. Because she knew Effie was right about kissing, practicing did lead to perfection. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They had a week before the wedding, and Peeta was moved back into the penthouse with Effie acting as chaperone. Time flew quickly by as each had multiple fitting with Cinna to ensure that their wedding clothes fit properly.

Peeta also spent a lot of time working with some Capitol bakers designing, baking and decorating their seven-tier wedding cake.

A couple of days before the wedding Katniss’ mother and Prim arrived. After they had toured the penthouse, Katniss took them up to the roof and warned them about the cameras.

“I’m not surprised,” her mother admitted. 

Prim couldn’t hold back. “I can’t believe you’re marrying Peeta. I’m so glad. I didn’t like that Cato at all.”

Kantiss laughed. “I didn’t like him either.”

“Are you happy?” her mother asked. Katniss could see the worry in her eyes.

“Yes,” she murmured. A lot happier than I thought I’d be, she had to admit.

“It’s too bad Peeta’s family isn’t coming,” Prim said.

“They didn’t want to close the bakery,” said Katniss. She knew Peeta was glad they wouldn’t be attending, but she didn’t want to go into detail telling her mother and sister the reasons why. But then it’s possible they might have heard about Mrs. Mellark striking the both of them.

While Cressida had decided not to air that footage as part of the show, bootleg copies of the incident were being circulated all over Panem. She imagined the Mellarks knew and had decided to lay low for the time being. 

Cinna arrived that afternoon, carrying wedding clothing for her mother and Prim to try on. Katniss sat on her bed and watched as they were fitted – her mother in a long lavender-colored dress and Prim in a shorter apricot-colored one. 

Katniss modeled her dress that the viewers across the country had chosen for her to wear. It was made of heavy white silk with a low neckline, tight waist, and sleeves that fell from her wrists down to the floor. The dress was adorned with pearls. 

“You look beautiful,” Prim cried when Katniss twirled around the room.

Peeta’s reaction was the same when Katniss walked down the aisle accompanied by Plutarch on her wedding day.

His eyes widened and a grin spread across Katniss’ face. There was something so comforting about seeing Peeta standing there waiting for her. 

He was dressed in a white suit with long tails that hung off the back of his jacket.

When she reached the front of the church, Plutarch put her hand into Peeta’s and she held on tightly to it for the remainder of the ceremony, not paying attention to the words of the officiate, but to the feeling of Peeta’s warm hand surrounding hers.

After the ceremony Kantiss and Peeta posed for what seemed like hundreds of photographs, before being dismissed to join the reception. The twelve contestants had been invited to the wedding and the few who attended came up to greet them.

Finnick, with Annie at his side, was the first to congratulate them. He invited Katniss and Peeta to visit his beach house in a couple of months.

“I’m hosting a gathering of friends who are concerned about the Capitol’s abuse of privacy,” he whispered. “I’d love to have you both there.”

The lumberjack from Seven, who Effie had thought was such a great catch, introduced Katniss to his male companion. Katniss smiled sweetly and encouraged him to be sure to introduce his friend to Effie, as well.

Eventually she and Peeta were able to break free of the crowds and get something to eat.

“Would you like to dance?” Peeta asked after.

She nodded and they made their way to the dance floor. It wasn’t long before guests were asking to cut in. She found herself dancing with Gates. Surprisingly he complimented her appearance, which was unexpected from someone who had only seemed interested in talking about his inventions. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

“I have a gift for you,” he said, handing her a golden mockingjay pin encrusted with red stones.

Katniss thanked him for it. He stopped dancing for a moment, pinned it onto her dress, and leaned over to whisper into her ear.

“There’s a switch on the back,” he murmured. “If you turn it on, it emits a high frequency sound that jams all cameras and recording devices within 50 feet. You may want to turn it on this evening.”

Katniss’ mouth dropped open. For the life she now faced, it was the best present in the world.

She wrapped her arms around Gates, hugged him tightly, and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you so very much,” she whispered.

He blushed, and then smiled. “My Uncle Beetee was a victor for my district. My family knows about the things the Capitol does.” 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“I was wondering about that hug and kiss,” Peeta said later when she showed him the pin and turned the switch on in their honeymoon suite at the end of the day. 

“Were you jealous?” she smirked.

He smiled. “No. Should I be?”

She shook her head. She and Peeta assumed the Capitol would be filming their wedding night. Why not? For the voyeurs in the Capitol it was the perfect violation of their privacy as newlyweds.

Katniss and Peeta had already agreed that the show would be a dud because neither was ready to push their relationship further along until they were both ready. Katniss agreed with Peeta. Things like this were taken a lot slower in District 12. But now, with the cameras and recording devices jammed because of Gates’ gift, they could keep that decision to themselves.

In fact, Peeta offered to sleep on the floor, but Katniss told him it was silly. It was a big bed. They could both fit into it without even touching the other. Peeta eventually agreed and lay on the edge on his side. But when they woke up the next morning, she was curled up into his back, both of them having moved toward the center.

They spent the next couple of days traveling back to Twelve by train. Slowly over several weeks, as they set up housekeeping in one of the empty houses in Victor’s Village and got to know their new neighbor Haymitch Abernathy, they grew together. 

There were brief moments when Katniss became frustrated that the Capitol had forced her to marry. But with Peeta’s arms there to comfort her she had to admit that she could live a hundred life times and not deserve someone as wonderful as him. 

On the night Peeta kissed her and she felt that thing again, that hunger she’d experienced in the office of the Mellark Bakery, she realized it would have happened anyway. She was never meant for Gale. She wanted, no, she needed more than a marriage based on friendship and survival.

If she hadn’t been on _The Match Game_ , Peeta would still have been there, loving her from afar. It would have only been a matter of time before he’d gotten up the courage to talk to her and win her heart.

So after, when he whispered, “You love me,” she whispered back, “I do.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Plutarch sat at the big conference table in his office. His head ached. _The Match Game_ had been the worst debacle of his career. He had trusted Fulvia’s expertise, but she had failed him big this time.

He heard a soft knock on the door. “Come in,” he called.

Fulvia entered, looking apologetic. She carried a clipboard and a pen and sat down across from him.

“Let’s do a quick debrief and retire this one fast,” Plutarch said. “We need to get past it and on to something new.”

“Fine,” Fulvia said, her face brightening a bit. “Well, on the plus side, we did break even despite having to return Cato’s entrance fee,” she said, looking at her notes. “The sale of the tickets for the wedding helped a lot. It’s a shame the cameras and audio didn’t work for the wedding night special. That one evening and the sale of the tape would have given us a tidy profit.”

“Do you know why it didn’t work?”

“I have my staff looking into it,” she said. “At any rate we’ve made Katniss and Peeta into household names. I was thinking about some kind of reality show we could do with them in District 12. Maybe we could move Peeta’s mother in with them. We could call it _Hell House_.”

Plutarch frowned, so Fulvia pitched another thought.

“His brother Rye is a looker too, and has a the reputation of a womanizer in the district. How about a show called _The Adventures of Rye Mellark_ in which he romances a different woman every week?”

Plutarch shook his head. “I think Panem has seen enough of the Mellark family for now. Any other ideas.”

“Well, I had this one,” Fulvia said, tapping her pen lightly on her forearm. “What if we got two people from each district and put them on an island with limited supplies? We’ll watch them struggle and form alliances to survive. Each week, they’ll vote someone off the island.”

“Kind of like the Hunger Games without the killing?” Plutarch asked.

“Exactly.” Fulvia beamed, happy to be back in her boss’ good graces.

“We do have a tropical arena that’s partially built,” he admitted. “We never got the chance to use it. Okay, write up a proposal and crunch the numbers. We may have a hit.”

 

**THE END**

 

 

_Author’s Note: Thanks so much for your support of this story. I appreciate all your reviews and kudos. I have written a sequel to this story called A Marriage Made In Panem. You can find it on this site._


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